How Axpara Saved $50K+ with Wise Business and Scaled Internationally While Remaining Remote-First

Axpara is a Singapore-headquartered software development company that helps businesses build and manage remote software development teams across Southeast Asia. With over 200 team members spread across Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and beyond, Axpara operates without physical offices, embracing a fully remote model that allows for flexibility and efficiency.

Axpara's unique value proposition lies in its ability to harness the power of "Quiet Talents"—individuals who consistently deliver exceptional results without fanfare. These talents are resilient, loyal, and thoughtful, often overlooked by traditional hiring managers. However, Axpara recognises their potential and integrates them into teams where they can truly shine.

In this case study, we’ll explore how Axpara, led by founder, Keith Tan:

• saves upwards of SGD 50,000 a year using Wise Business
• overcame inefficient, clunky international payment methods,
• achieved a 50% reduction in finance operations headcount while reallocating team to more strategic, high-value roles, and
• unlocked growth in new markets.

A remote-first company scaling beyond borders

Axpara was founded in 2015 as a software product development company, building digital tools in-house. But as the demand for quality tech talent surged, the team recognised a bigger opportunity: helping other companies scale engineering teams efficiently. This led to a strategic pivot from building products to building remote teams, and Axpara evolved into a full-service staffing solutions provider for the software industry.

Today, Axpara works with clients across Singapore, Australia, the UK, and beyond to assemble dedicated remote development teams. The company manages everything from recruitment to onboarding and compliance, while clients focus on product delivery. With a wide pool of remote developers across Southeast Asia, Axpara combines regional expertise with lean operational infrastructure to help fast-growing companies scale development teams quickly.

By offering competitive management fees and a transparent hiring process, the company ensures that businesses can scale efficiently while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Whether it's through employee contracting, payroll management, or HR management, Axpara provides comprehensive solutions that make hiring faster, better, and cheaper.

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The hidden costs of scaling globally

For companies like Axpara — remote, lean, and scaling across borders — speed is paramount. The typical delays and fees of international banking aren’t just inconvenient; they can derail hiring, strain client relationships, and erode already-thin margins.

Operating in over eight countries introduced significant friction in Axpara’s payroll and client payroll processes. As they scaled, so did the complexity: dealing with multiple currencies, cross-border transfers, and reconciliation across scattered bank accounts.

They operate in a highly fluid international environment with multiple currencies, receiving funds in SGD, AUD, USD, and GBP while paying out in IDR, PHP, VND, EUR, and occasionally INR.

As they expanded, the inefficiencies of traditional financial systems became increasingly apparent.

“When we were doing telegraphic transfers to separate bank accounts in every country using our Singapore corporate account, it became ridiculously expensive and really hard to reconcile.”

Keith initially assumed that these inefficiencies (exchange rate markups, wire transfer fees, and payment delays) were simply part of doing business internationally.

It wasn’t until they took a step back to evaluate their total volume of transactions that the real cost became apparent; they were losing tens of thousands of dollars annually.

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Uncovering the hidden drain on their finances

Then came a moment when everything clicked.

During a monthly cash flow review, the finance team noticed a recurring issue: payments sent from Singapore were arriving short in local currencies.

In other words, the end recipients were getting less than expected, and Axpara was unknowingly footing the difference.

“We weren’t just paying fees, we were bleeding money in a way that was hard to track.”

When the numbers didn’t add up Keith dug deeper and realised the problem lay in the foreign exchange rates.

That discovery kickstarted the team’s search for a more transparent business account solution.

Turning pain points into growth levers

The inefficiencies in Axpara’s international payments weren’t just frustrating, they were holding the company back. However, rather than accepting them as part of doing business, the team took action.

Here’s how Wise Business became a key part of that shift.

Why Axpara chose Wise Business

Axpara explored other options, including bank platforms and multi-currency accounts from traditional institutions. But the fees, setup time, and lack of integration left much to be desired.

Keith needed something that matched their company's speed.

“Wise felt like software — fast, flexible, and built for companies like ours.”

And what started as a solution to rising costs and reconciliation chaos soon evolved into a full transformation of their financial operations.

1. Streamlining global payroll

The first step in transforming Axpara’s finance operations came through batch payments via Wise. Instead of wiring funds to local bank accounts in multiple countries, Axpara could now pay entire groups of consultants with a single spreadsheet upload.

Their payroll cycle varies by region: monthly for Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, but biweekly for the Philippines and Australia. Managing this frequency and diversity used to require layers of admin effort and local coordination.

With Wise, batch payments are not only faster; they’re also more transparent, more affordable, and easier to reconcile. Integration with Xero further eliminated redundant manual work.

The result? A dramatic lift in operational efficiency, freeing up half of the finance team to focus on higher-value work while maintaining accuracy across complex payroll cycles.

In Keith’s words,

“We reduced our finance ops headcount by more than half. Just three people now manage payroll for over 200 staff across multiple currencies and countries.”

The best part of Batch Payments was they could now pay 25-30 people across Indonesia or the Philippines in one shot, with each line item being trackable, which was not possible before.

Wise’s permissions and multi-user access have also enabled greater control. Teams can now split access between roles, including approvals, payouts, and reconciliation, all without compromising security or accuracy.

Having trouble managing multiple invoice payments efficiently? Wise Business can streamline your payment process, save you hundreds of manpower hours, and do it all with no hidden exchange rate markups. ➡️Explore Wise Business Batch Payments today

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2. Cutting out hidden costs

The traditional telegraphic transfer (TT) system was deceptively expensive. The visible transfer fee was only part of the story; hidden within the foreign currency exchange was an exchange rate markup that quietly ate into their margins.

“The telegraphic transfer fee is visible, but not the exchange rate markup. With Wise, we get the mid-market rate, there’s no guessing.”

By analysing their average annual transacted volume (between SGD 3 - 4 million), Axpara estimated that just a 1.5% hidden exchange rate markup translated to more than SGD50,000 in losses per year.

Now, with Wise, they transact directly in their clients’ currencies, storing and paying from the same currency pool as needed, thereby avoiding unnecessary conversions altogether. And if they ever need to convert between currencies while making a payment, Wise ensures Axpara always gets the mid-market rate, not an inflated rate loaded with hidden markups.

Here’s Keith describing how Axpara typically receives payments from their clients:

“Our clients in Australia pay us in AUD, which we store and use to pay out. We don’t need to convert to SGD anymore, which saves us even more.”

In other words, Wise Business enables Axpara to receive payments like a local using local account details so that clients in Australia or the UK can pay in their own currency, reducing friction and fees. These savings are especially critical for Axpara’s service-based model, which operates on tight 10% gross margins.

As Keith pointed out: We’re not a product company with 50% margins. Every percentage point we save on fees goes straight back into the business.

Aside from cost savings, Axpara has also achieved time savings using Wise Business.

Previously, they maintained local bank accounts in each country for payments. That meant managing 5–6 parallel systems, from banking interfaces to reconciliation workflows. With Wise, this has been consolidated into a single business account dashboard, removing redundancies and freeing up time.

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3. Accelerating market expansion

What started as an operations fix quickly became a strategic growth lever.

Wise’s ability to facilitate local payment collections in multiple markets unlocked a powerful flywheel of efficiency and growth:

• Faster customer onboarding led to higher trust,
• Higher trust led to more referrals.

As Keith notes:

“Our UK presence started with one referral. The client paid us in pounds via Wise. That trust helped us land more clients without setting up a UK entity or bank account.”

With Wise Business, Axpara has local account details to receive in key currencies, such as GBP, USD, and EUR, enabling them to enter new markets with minimal setup. This has allowed them to identify and test product-market fit quickly, before investing heavily in legal and operational infrastructure.

They’ve already used Wise Business to expand into the UK and Australia, and they are now planning entry into the Eurozone, hiring developers from Romania, Estonia, and Poland for clients across Europe — all without needing to incorporate or open a single local bank account.

Keith had previously established a U.S. entity to support client payment collections, a costly and time-consuming decision driven by the limitations of traditional banking. But once he began using Wise Business to receive USD payments, he started to question whether the U.S. entity was necessary at all.

“Why go through the annual taxes and admin when we can receive ACH transfers in our Wise account?”

With Wise Business accepting card payments, ACH transfers, and offering more global payment options, Axpara can now receive funds through new methods, adding even more flexibility for its clients worldwide.

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4. Supporting complex payroll cycles

Axpara’s business model adds a unique challenge: supporting payroll schedules that differ by market. Australia and the Philippines operate on a biweekly payroll cycle, which doubles the number of payroll runs, reconciliations, and foreign exchange exposures in those regions.

As Keith said,

“You need systems that streamline this. Wise helps us manage multi-country payroll twice a month, with less effort.”

Before Wise Business, syncing different payroll dates across countries was a logistical nightmare.

“We once had to delay payments in the Philippines because our SGD transfer didn’t clear on time,” Keith shared. “That affected morale and our reputation with contractors.”

With Wise, same-day transfers have become the norm, restoring trust and reducing friction between the HQ and regional teams.

For a small finance team, managing multiple payroll calendars across different currencies can quickly become unsustainable. Wise’s speed of transfers — often near instant in countries like the Philippines — has been a game-changer.

“A client paid us late this week. I received the money, triggered payroll from the Wise app, and our consultant was paid the same day.”

In addition, the ability to download payment reports, tag expenses, and sync with accounting toolsensures that visibility and compliance remain accurate, regardless of the number of moving parts in play.

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Beyond the numbers: Wise Business as an operating edge

Axpara has always operated remotely. Since day one, they’ve structured the business to be global-first, without physical offices or fixed borders. That borderless ethos permeates every aspect of their model, from hiring to customer acquisition.

Wise Business fits this philosophy perfectly.

It isn’t just a money movement tool — it’s the infrastructure that enables growth without friction.

As Keith explains,

“We’re a service business with 10% margins. We have to control costs…Wise helps us rethink what’s possible. We can hire anywhere, serve anyone, and scale globally with a finance stack built for modern business.”

In other words, Wise Business’s true value to Axpara is how it’s changed their operating assumptions.

They no longer need to:

• Set up entities in every market
• Hire local banking or compliance staff
• Chase incoming wires or guess at exchange rate markups

Instead, they gain complete clarity, real-time control, and scalable infrastructure, all wrapped into a business account that their small team can manage with ease.

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Planning for growth and uncertainty

When asked for his take on growth and tackling rising market uncertainty, Keith believes the best infrastructure isn’t just about today’s savings. It’s about preparing for what might go wrong tomorrow.

“Plan, and plan for your plan to fail. Infrastructure like Wise lets you adapt quickly, cut costs, and seize opportunities when they appear…Every year, Wise adds something we didn’t know we needed. Faster speeds, card payments — it just keeps improving.”

As Axpara has grown from strength to strength, Wise Business has quietly evolved as well, offering a slew of helpful business solutions that continuously improve year after year. Even as the business looks to expand its footprint across Europe, it will continue to rely on Wise Business, not just for payments and settlements, but also to remain agile, lean, and ready for whatever comes next.

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Rethink your financial stack before scaling

For Axpara, Wise Business wasn’t just a quick fix — it became part of a broader rethink around how modern businesses manage global operations.

Keith believes many founders wait too long to clean up their financial infrastructure, only realising the gaps when growth is already underway,

“Don’t wait until you’re scaling to clean up your financial stack. If you’re dealing with multiple currencies or teams, get your infrastructure right from the start.”

Wise Business gives lean, remote-first Singapore companies like Axpara the tools to run payroll, collect payments, and scale globally without the cost or complexity of traditional corporate banking.

💡If you're growing a global business, you'll quickly face a daunting wall of costs, complexity, and hidden fees when receiving international payments. Wise Business helps you bypass this wall, making it easy to receive money from around the world and start getting paid like a local today.

• Obtain account details to receive payments in GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD and more for a one-time fee of S$ 99.
• Simply share your account details with customers or add them to invoices.
• Hold, send, and convert money at the mid-market rate in one account.
• Simplify customer payments with Wise request payment feature.
• Accept payments from customers and payment service providers (PSPs) like Stripe and Amazon.
• Generate payment links to request money in specific currencies.

➡️Get started with Wise Business today

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