Wayo transforms checkout and cross-border payments with Airwallex

From sourcing swag to seamless global payments: The Wayo story

Wayo, founded in 2022 by Julia Xu and Mandy Chow, is transforming how businesses source custom products using AI and advanced design tools. The platform allows companies to efficiently create high-quality, unique merchandise at scale. Wayo stands out with its fully self-serve experience, enabling customers to upload designs, customize products, and manage orders directly — while also benefiting from competitive pricing and faster production times.

Operating in the US and sourcing products from trusted factories overseas, Wayo is well-positioned to serve businesses globally. By tapping into a network of vetted suppliers, it delivers high-quality custom products in as little as two weeks, providing a truly borderless solution. As Wayo scales, a robust payment infrastructure is critical to support its growing international operations.

The challenge: Handling complex and inefficient payment processes

Before adopting Airwallex, Wayo faced significant challenges managing global payments. As a B2B business, Wayo frequently processed large customer orders, often worth thousands of dollars, and needed a solution to support cross-border transactions without excessive fees.

“Our previous solution was Stripe invoicing, but it became expensive and cumbersome, especially after migrating from Bookipi, which Stripe acquired,” says Mandy Chow, Co-founder and COO at Wayo. “We realized that Stripe's invoicing no longer suited our needs, as we could generate invoices ourselves through our portal. What we really needed was a more cost-effective payment solution.”

A key pain point was managing high-value transactions, where traditional credit card fees would significantly reduce profits. “A 3% fee on a large order was substantial, and we needed a more efficient way to process payments,” Mandy adds.

The solution: A streamlined financial experience with Airwallex

Wayo selected Airwallex to streamline its FX payments and cross-border transfers, which is essential for managing suppliers' payments globally. Airwallex’s platform helped Wayo eliminate the headaches of blocked payments and unfavorable exchange rates, providing a reliable solution for global operations. 

Mandy Chow

Co-founder and COO, Wayo

"Airwallex helped us manage cross-border payments with ease. We no longer have to worry about exchange rate fluctuations or blocked payments."

Wayo adopted Airwallex’s Payment Links and QuickBooks integration to simplify its payment process. The Payment Links allowed Wayo to collect payments with minimal effort, while the QuickBooks integration made financial management seamless. 

"The QuickBooks integration made it easy to manage our financials from day one," Mandy notes. "We didn’t have to manually enter data or reconcile transactions, which saved us significant time."

Later, Wayo introduced the complete checkout experience, fully integrating it into their website to enable a smooth, self-serve process for customers.

Mandy Chow

Co-founder and COO, Wayo

"Having the checkout built into our site makes a big difference. Clients can finalize their orders without leaving our platform, making the process more efficient, especially as we scale."

By consolidating payment functions and financial management into a single platform, Wayo significantly reduced complexity. "The fewer platforms we rely on, the better," says Mandy. It’s great that we can handle everything from payments to FX in one place, saving both time and resources."

Realizing significant cost savings and operational efficiencies

Since switching to Airwallex, Wayo has seen a marked improvement in its payment processes and overall operational efficiency. Integrating Airwallex’s API into Wayo’s platform allowed the company to customize its payment logic, ensuring that all transactions, from standard orders to custom designs, could be processed quickly and securely. The team also reduced the number of platforms used for payment processing, leading to cost savings and less complexity in managing financial operations.

Mandy Chow

Co-founder and COO, Wayo

"We are saving on transaction fees, especially with larger orders, which has significantly impacted our bottom line. Consolidating our payment systems into one platform has streamlined our operations and made it easier for our team to manage."

As the company continues to grow, the improved checkout experience has also boosted customer satisfaction, enabling clients to place orders faster and with fewer touchpoints. "The self-serve checkout experience has really empowered our customers, and we expect this will lead to even greater growth in the coming months," Mandy notes.

A seamless future ahead with Airwallex

Adopting Airwallex has streamlined Wayo's payment processing and enabled the company to scale its operations more efficiently. With the ability to handle cross-border transactions, simplify the checkout process, and reduce costs, Wayo is well-positioned to expand further and continue building a platform that empowers businesses to create and distribute custom swag and merch globally.

Mandy Chow

Co-founder and COO, Wayo

"We’re excited about what’s to come. With Airwallex by our side, we can focus on growing our business and innovating without being bogged down by payment complexities. This partnership is truly helping us drive our business forward."