Waterbomb Bali builds a borderless festival and saves on cross-border costs

Introducing Waterbomb Bali

Born in South Korea, Waterbomb is more than just a large-scale music festival; it's a vibrant cultural event and a global phenomenon. What started as a local event in Seoul has since rapidly expanded to cities like Tokyo, Bangkok, and Bali, but this incredible growth has also brought with it the complexities of cross-border operations.

The challenge

Running an international festival requires more than just great music; it demands flawless operational execution. As Waterbomb Bali expanded, the team faced an immense challenge: managing a complex global network of performers, crew, and suppliers from various countries for their Bali festival.

Jae Hyun Park

CEO at Waterbomb Bali

“We never imagined going global. Managing different currencies, countries, and teams all at once was our biggest challenge. Passion alone wasn’t enough – we needed the right partners to make the impossible possible.”

With a global fan base and a small internal team, Waterbomb Bali needed to move with speed and precision. They faced a three-fold problem: securing a single solution for seamless global ticket sales to fans in Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia, among others; efficiently handling international supplier payments that were bogged down by high fees and long processing times; and scaling fast with limited resources to avoid delays and errors. Their ambition to build a borderless cultural movement hinged on finding a payment solution that was equally seamless and scalable.

Jae Hyun Park

CEO at Waterbomb Bali

“There were moments we genuinely didn't know how we'd achieve this. We faced challenges with diverse currencies, varying time zones, and complex compliance regulations – all while having zero room for error. Discovering Airwallex felt like a light switch turning on.”

The solution

Airwallex as the backbone of global payments

Airwallex became the backbone of Waterbomb Bali's global payment infrastructure, transforming their operational bottlenecks into a seamless, unified process.

The team first addressed their ticket sales challenge by using Airwallex's Payment Links. This allowed them to effortlessly sell tickets to fans across the globe by supporting over 15 local and international payment methods. They no longer had to rely on multiple third-party ticketing providers, which gave them full control over the process and saved them significant platform fees. This flexible collection capability was key to reaching their diverse fan base, from fans using Visa and Mastercard to those who preferred popular local options like GCash, DOKU e-Wallet, Naver Pay, and Ideal.

To tackle the complexities of paying international talent and suppliers, Waterbomb Bali leveraged Airwallex's cross-border payment capabilities. They could pay artists and partners in minutes, by bypassing the slow and costly traditional SWIFT transfer system. The team also streamlined all of their business travel expenses by using Airwallex Corporate Cards, simplifying what was once a complicated reimbursement process. By instantly opening multi-currency accounts in IDR, MYR, PHP, and 11 other currencies, they could manage all their international receipts and payments from a single, unified platform, making their finances as borderless as their music.

With Airwallex's help, the Waterbomb Bali team moved fast and paid even faster, keeping the music going without borders. Airwallex wasn't just another financial solution; it became a critical partner in Waterbomb Bali's expansion journey.

Waterbomb Bali, WAAO

Jae Hyun Park, Waterbomb Bali CEO

“Waterbomb is all about breaking boundaries – musically, culturally, and now financially. Airwallex was the only platform that allowed us to truly go global without friction. In that sense, it didn’t just support our festival – it became part of the experience.”

The result

With Airwallex, Waterbomb Bali turned complex back-office operations into a seamless global experience.

15 payment methods, 14 currencies, on one seamless platform. Airwallex powered Waterbomb Bali’s global festival machine, allowing them to:

• Easily collect ticket payments via mainstream and local payment methods

• Make payments to international artists in minutes, not days, saving cross-border transfer and currency exchange costs

• Ensure vendors in Indonesia, Korea, and Australia receive funds in their local currency with full transparency

• Consolidate all financial operations onto a single platform, effectively lightening the team’s workload and accelerating global expansion

As Jae Hyun Park concluded, “This was a landmark moment. For the first time, we could run a K-Pop festival in Bali with zero payment friction. Airwallex made the impossible possible.”