ApproveThis manages your Airwallex approvals.

Why This Integration Matters

Let’s cut through the noise: Most companies treat financial approvals like a game of telephone. Someone submits a request, it gets lost in Slack, finance chases down signatures, and three weeks later you’re still waiting to pay that vendor in Singapore. Airwallex moves money globally like a pro, but without tight approval controls? You’re just building a faster way to make expensive mistakes.

That’s where ApproveThis comes in. We’re the missing layer between “Hey, can we pay this?” and “Payment sent.” Connect the two via Zapier, and you’ve got a system where every dollar spent gets automatic oversight – without slowing down operations.

What You’re Working With

Airwallex’s Heavy Lifting

Airwallex handles the messy stuff: multi-currency accounts, international payments, corporate cards. It’s built for businesses that don’t want to get ripped off on FX fees or wait days for cross-border transfers.

ApproveThis’s Guardrails

We add the human decisions:
- Approval chains that auto-route based on amount, department, or project
- Automatic escalations when someone’s OOO
- Real-time audit trails (because “I thought Bob approved it” isn’t a compliance strategy)

Real-World Scenarios That Don’t Suck

1. Stopping Budget Bleed Before It Happens

The Problem: Your team in Sydney keeps hitting card limits because accounting uses Excel to track spend. By the time finance notices, the project’s delayed.

The Fix: Airwallex triggers ApproveThis when a card hits 80% of its limit. The CFO gets an approval request with:
- Current spend vs. limit
- Last 5 transactions
- One-click options: Increase limit? Freeze the card? Send a “cool it” email?

Who This Helps:
Finance Teams: No more end-of-month surprises. Set thresholds so local teams get autonomy without risking overspend.
Project Managers: Get limit increases approved same-day instead of waiting for weekly finance syncs.

2. Vendor Onboarding That Doesn’t Take a Week

The Problem: New vendor? Great. Now get 3 sign-offs, manually enter their details into Airwallex, and hope no one fat-fingers the IBAN.

The Fix: Start in ApproveThis:
1. Requester uploads contract + W8-BEN form
2. Legal approves T&Cs
3. Finance OKs the payment terms
Once approved, Zapier auto-creates the Airwallex beneficiary. Zero rekeying.

Who This Helps:
Procurement: Stop playing messenger between legal and finance.
AP Clerks: Eliminate 100% of “Wait, is this SWIFT code correct?” tickets.

3. Auditable Global Payments (Without the Paperwork)

The Problem: Your CFO needs to track why ₩50M went to a new Seoul supplier. Cue the 3-hour forensics session digging through emails.

The Fix: Every Airwallex transaction auto-creates an ApproveThis request with:
- Payment purpose
- Attached invoices
- Approver comments (e.g., “Jane approved exchange rate 1:1350”)
All searchable in one dashboard, exportable for audits.

Who This Helps:
Controllers: Pull payment approvals for any transaction in <60 seconds.
Department Heads: Prove budget compliance without spreadsheet gymnastics.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

1. Connect the Pipes: In Zapier, link Airwallex and ApproveThis (takes 4 minutes – we timed it).
2. Pick Your Triggers: Airwallex events → ApproveThis actions or vice versa.
3. Test with Small Stuff: Try a $100 card limit alert before rolling out to the whole APAC region.

Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’s Calculated Fields to auto-flag unusual transactions. Example: “If payment amount > 2x monthly average for this vendor, require VP approval.”

Why Teams Actually Like This

Finance Gets Control Without Being the Bad Guy

No more “Why’d you decline my request?!” arguments. Rules are baked into workflows. When ApproveThis says “Needs VP approval,” it’s the system talking, not Karen from accounting.

Operations Keeps Moving Fast

Field teams get instant approvals via email. No VPN, no learning Airwallex’s dashboard. Click “Approve” in Gmail → payment goes out. Done.

External Partners Stay in Their Lane

Contractors approve invoices? Vendors confirm payment details? Give them access to specific ApproveThis requests without an Airwallex login. (Yes, this works for clients who still use Hotmail.)

When to Think Twice

This isn’t magic fairy dust. If your approval process changes daily, or you’ve got 47 “special case” spend categories, get your workflows sorted first. But for 95% of companies handling international payments? This combo cuts approval delays by 80% – we’ve seen the metrics.

Bottom Line

Airwallex handles the money. ApproveThis handles the decisions. Together, they make sure your global payments are actually as efficient as you’re paying Airwallex to be.

Next Step: Register for ApproveThis, hook up your Airwallex account via Zapier, and automate your first approval flow in 20 minutes flat. Or schedule a demo if you want to see the sneaky ways we handle multi-tiered approvals.