Reimbursement payouts funded by the platform
This model is applicable for platforms who fund employee reimbursements upfront and are in the funds flow themselves. The platform processes payouts to employees throughout the month, and subsequently collects repayments, e.g., at month end from the customers.
Let’s imagine a fictitious platform named ReimbursementOS. One of their customers is BizCo and BizCo's employees incur travel expenses, which must be reimbursed.
| Platform | ReimbursementOS, a platform offering reimbursement services to its customers. |
| Customer | A company / employer who uses ReimbursementOS to process employee reimbursements. Example customers featured in this guide include BizCo and MarCo. |
| End User | A finance employee of BizCo / MarCo responsible for making payouts to employees through the ReimbursementOS platform. |
| Employee | An employee of BizCo / MarCo who submits expense requests and gets approved amounts refunded to their bank accounts. |
Specific requirements may apply based on the jurisdictions to which you want to deliver services. Always speak to a member of the Airwallex team if you are considering implementing our Global Treasury solution.
Funds flow
The diagram below shows the funds flow for a platform looking to integrate with Airwallex's Global Treasury solution for employee reimbursements.
The steps in the flow of funds are described in more detail below. Note that you can potentially initiate multiple operations at the same time - our teams will help you understand the options available in more detail.
Fund the Wallet
The platform's Wallet needs to be funded in order to power reimbursement payouts. This can be done through a number of different methods:
Global Accounts and bank transfer: ReimbursementOS can create unique virtual account numbers over API for each currency their customers operate in. These virtual accounts allow funds to be received into their platform Wallet from a number of sources:
- External bank accounts owned by the platform
External bank accounts owned by customers (e.g., BizCo), if the platform has instructed its customers to send repayments to the Airwallex Global Accounts
There are no limits to how often the platform can fund the Wallet in this way.
Direct debit as a payment method: ReimbursementOS can collect repayments from its customers through Airwallex Online Payments functionality as part of a managed checkout flow. Only one direct debit can be triggered per day per external customer, e.g., only one direct debit a day pulling from BizCo’s external bank account. For more information on this payment method, please contact your Airwallex Account Manager.
Process payouts
In this integration model where reimbursement payouts are funded upfront by ReimbursementOS (the platform), funds will move from ReimbursementOS’s Wallet to the external bank accounts of the employees who are receiving the reimbursement, over Airwallex’s payout rails.
- Payouts: Trigger payouts to employees using Airwallex's Payout APIs. Airwallex's network of local clearing systems supports payouts to employees in multiple countries and currencies, with country-specific delivery time taken into consideration to ensure the payouts arrive in employees’ bank accounts on the payroll day.
- Batch payouts: This feature may be used to trigger multiple invoice payouts across currencies and countries as one instruction. Batch payouts can also be funded via Direct Debit.
- Beneficiaries: Airwallex offers the possibility to optionally save beneficiaries for future reference. Beneficiaries should be saved as soon as details become available, to facilitate name screening.