XTransfer, a Chinese fintech unicorn, has expanded its business-to-business (B2B) cross-border trade payment platform to Thailand to capitalise on global trade conducted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The company is aiming to launch an initial public offering in the future. XTransfer completed its Series D financing in September 2021, and the company's valuation exceeds US$1.3 billion, making it a unicorn.
"We decided to expand outside China last year, being a global payment trade platform for SMEs," Jason Sun, the company's founder and chief financial officer, told the Bangkok Post.
The company expects that within a period of three to five years, 50% of its business revenue will be generated in markets outside of China, with the other half generated domestically, he said.
Over the past seven years, the company has served over 450,000 Chinese exporters and helped them collect money worldwide. B2B payment in China is a US$3-trillion market, representing almost 20% of China's GDP.
The company's focus is on the Southeast Asian region and Thailand is one of its strategic targets within the region. It is also focusing on South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
According to statistics made available by China's Commerce Ministry, Thailand was China's fourth-largest trading partner within Asean last year, while China was Thailand's largest trading partner.
According to XTransfer, the total amount of funds collected by China's foreign trade via Thai SME buyers in the first two months of 2024 increased by 32.5% from the corresponding period last year.
With frequent trade between the two countries, XTransfer aims to provide convenient and fast payment solutions for Chinese sellers and their Thai buyers, says XTransfer.
Last month, with the support of Deutsche Bank, XTransfer obtained non-resident qualified company status from the Bank of Thailand, the first company in Thailand to receive this status.
XTransfer and Deutsche Bank assist Chinese and Thai foreign trade enterprises, allowing Thai buyers to make payments directly to Chinese suppliers in baht via Thailand's PromptPay payment system.
XTransfer recently launched a global version of its mobile app, allowing buyers and sellers around the world to manage and allocate funds at any time and from anywhere.
According to XTransfer, the company's cross-border payment transfer service offers a lower fee and a better foreign exchange rate compared with traditional banks.
Providing an example, Mr Sun said the company collects a fixed fee of $12 per transaction, while the traditional system charges 0.25% of the value per transaction. Therefore, any transaction worth more than $5,000 would have a cheaper fee via the XTransfer service.
He said electronics, apparel, machinery and metals are the leading categories in terms of China's exports, while electric vehicle component exports are growing.
The company is applying for a licence to partner with local licensing institutions such as banks and payment companies to provide its services to Thai SMEs who export to buyers in China in the future.
Mr Sun said SMEs will play a key role in global trade. In China alone, SMEs account for 60% of the country's total export volume.
XTransfer has built a unified global multi-currency clearing network and a data-based, automated, internet-based and intelligent anti-money laundering risk control infrastructure centred on SMEs, he said.
The company also adopts artificial intelligence (AI) in cross border risk management while starting to use generative AI in customer relationship management to help SMEs in China communicate with their clients overseas.