Fintech startup Airwallex has secured $100 million in Series E funding. The round was led by the new investors HostPlus, an Australian industry superannuation fund, and an unnamed North American pension fund participated in the round.

They were also joined by existing investors including Tencent, Square Peg, Salesforce Venture, Sequoia Capital China, Lone Pine Capital, Hermitage Capital and 1835i Ventures. 

The Australia-based startup was founded in 2015 by the owners of a Melbourne coffee shop, including chief executive officer Jack Zhang.

The latest cash injection leads to the startup's funding total to more than US$900 million and sustains its valuation at about US$5.5 billion. 

The funding will be used by Airwallex to accelerate its international expansion and hire more tech talent.

Co-founder and chief executive officer Jack Zhang said, “The market environment remains challenging in the foreseeable future, and while we remain well-capitalised, this additional runway allows us to continue our growth plans, product expansion and hire some of the best talents in the world.”

He also added that they plan to strengthen the breadth of their global reach and product offering, better empower their customers to unlock new market opportunities and enable businesses to maximise revenues and accelerate growth.

Airwallex provides services including cross-border end-to-end payments and collection solutions for customers. According to its press release, the fintech platform currently serves the e-commerce markets in China, the US and the United Kingdom. 

The company currently employs over 1,000 people across 19 international officers in 11 territories.