Fintech 9 January 2026 - 23 January 2026

Australia’s financial crime watchdog has mandated an external audit of payments company Airwallex, citing worries over its adherence to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. The regulator aims to verify if the fintech’s controls adequately address the risks tied to cross-border fund transfers. This comes as AUSTRAC intensifies oversight of rapidly expanding payments and remittance firms, where poor controls can enable money laundering. The regulator didn’t allege any criminal wrongdoing by Airwallex, but it has mandated an independent review, paid for by the company, with the audit report expected within 180 days.

Australia’s financial crime regulator AUSTRAC directed payments firm Airwallex on Thursday to bring in an external auditor, citing concerns over major weaknesses in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing safeguards. Reuters The order is crucial since Airwallex operates at the core of global commerce, handling cross-border payments for businesses. This kind of fast-moving channel is precisely what regulators fear could be exploited by fraudsters and organized crime.

U.S. House lawmakers weighing a slate of draft fintech measures put buy-now-pay-later and earned wage access under scrutiny this week, as consumer advocates and industry groups argued over what guardrails should look like. The push matters now because Washington is trying to catch up with products that have moved from side hustle to household tool, especially on the payment and short-term credit edge of the market. The American Fintech Council, a trade group for fintech firms and “innovative banks,” urged Congress to set a consistent, risk-based federal framework and to modernize oversight for bank-fintech partnerships, BNPL and earned wage access. “Consumers are clearly demanding modern financial tools that are transparent, flexible, and affordable,” the group’s chief executive Phil Goldfeder said.