With our growing expansion into APAC, we have announced a new office opening in Singapore, which will be our Asia Pacific headquarters. The move addresses a growing demand in the region for solutions that can facilitate the frictionless transfer of money across borders while offering value, transparency and a simple online experience for both payers and receivers.
Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire, said “APAC will continue to be a growth area for Flywire, and with the opening of our new regional headquarters in Singapore, we are well positioned to continue to provide a seamless service for the region’s vibrant business, healthcare and education sectors. We will also look to grow other locations in Asia as our business expands in existing markets like Japan and Australia, as we are committed to invest to support our clients, payers, partners and colleagues around the world.”
In the past year, we have tripled our APAC team in order to meet growing demand in the region. The current APAC headquarters can accommodate 40 employees, across a range of functions. Flywire supports over 175 clients in APAC, representing both the education and healthcare sectors, including LASALLE College of the Arts, KPJ Healthcare and Kaplan Singapore. Asia-Pacific also represents Flywire’s largest market for payers so having a hub in Singapore allows Flywire to better meet the demands of its three largest markets for international transactions—China, India and South Korea. Massaro said that “the region is a critical part of the business, with 65% of total payment volumes originating from the Asia Pacific.”
Andrew Ong, MD, APAC, Flywire, noted that Singapore is the ideal venue for a regional headquarters as it has a good talent pool and is fintech-savvy. Having a hub in Singapore also allows Flywire to better meet the demands of its three largest markets for international transactions—China, India and South Korea. “It’s the right place to be in,” he said. “We’re definitely going to do more in this country.”
“Our operations in Singapore will be critical as Flywire looks to serve the needs of other industries in APAC. We have seen a significant ramp-up in the number of APAC-based clients over the past 18 to 24 months in the education and healthcare sectors,” says Andrew Ong, Managing Director of Flywire in Asia-Pacific. “We have over 20 clients in Singapore and Malaysia, 100 in Japan, and an increasingly strong base in Australia. This shows how much a service like this is essential to our part of the world, and we will continue putting in the necessary resources to support this vibrant region.”
Flywire Singapore currently has 20 FlyMates with sales and marketing as well as operations roles, said Ong. The new office in Bugis Junction can seat 40, and discussions have already taken place on the possibility of taking over the whole floor in the long term. Additional furniture is already stored in a warehouse in anticipation of expansion, Ong said.
“We think in terms of the next 36 to 48 months,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s the commitment to the market that’s important.”
Flywire has had an Asia-Pacific presence for two years, and 40 people in the Asia-Pacific in total, with Singapore joining offices in Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China and Sydney, Australia, Ong said. In the past year, Flywire has tripled its APAC team. The plan is to continue to expand.