Swyftx eyes crypto payments after securing Australian AFSL
Swyftx secured an Australian Financial Services Licence and will offer derivatives and non-cash payment services as it pursues crypto payments and stablecoin options for merchants.
Swyftx has received an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and plans to expand into crypto payments and stablecoin services while offering retail derivatives and non-cash payment facilities.
The licence allows the company to offer derivative products such as crypto options or futures to retail customers and authorises provision of non-cash payment services to business and retail clients. The company does not hold an AFSL to offer spot crypto trading.
The firm will target the payments market after Australian rules banning credit card surcharges on Visa and Mastercard take effect on Oct. 1, a change that will require merchants to absorb card fees or seek lower-cost payment rails.
“Swyftx won’t be a pure crypto spot exchange in future,” Andrea Yuen, interim co-CEO, said. “Crypto payments and stablecoins offer an opportunity for merchants to reduce the transaction costs they might have to bear in future.”
The company serves customers in New Zealand and the United States and previously applied to operate in the United Kingdom. It intends to use the regulated Australian market as a base for further international expansion, the company added.
New legislation requires most crypto firms to hold an AFSL by April 9, 2027, and firms with an AFSL must meet the same compliance obligations as other financial services companies. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission extended a grace period for applications to Sept. 30 and has received around 30 licence applications from crypto businesses since October.
A small group of exchanges have obtained AFSLs so far, including Coinbase, BTC Markets, Crypto.com and KuCoin, leaving Swyftx among a limited set of regulated providers in Australia.
A survey by the Australian exchange Independent Reserve found about one-third of Australians now own cryptocurrency and that 71% of survey respondents who hold crypto own bitcoin. Adrian Przelozny, Independent Reserve’s CEO, noted younger Australians are exploring alternative assets as some traditional wealth paths become harder to access.
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