May 21 (Reuters) - Payments firm Airwallex said on

Wednesday it was valued at $6.2 billion in its latest fundraise

of $300 million, marking a nearly 11% jump in valuation from its

last financing in 2022.

Fintech startups, which saw an investor gold rush

post-COVID, have struggled to raise capital thereafter as

persistently high interest rates and fears of a spending

slowdown pushed investors to the sidelines.

Companies offering payments processing solutions have

increasingly entered the U.S. lending space, aiming to wrest

market share from major players such as JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ),

Bank of America ( BAC ), and Citigroup ( C/PN ).

Following the trend, Airwallex, which was launched in

Melbourne in 2015, moved its permanent headquarters to San

Francisco last year.

The latest round, which included investors like Square Peg,

DST Global, Lone Pine Capital and Blackbird, brings Airwallex's

total funding to over $1.2 billion.

Airwallex said that the added capital would be used to

enter new markets and refine its technology.

"This investment marks a major milestone in our journey to

redefine global banking, and to empower businesses everywhere to

grow without limits," said Jack Zhang, co-founder and CEO of

Airwallex.

The company, which allows customers to issue and pay

international invoices and bills through its payments platform,

said that it had grown gross profit in Americas and Europe at a

4-year compounded annual growth of over 250%.