Macquarie Bank vs Airwallex: compare on fees, features, and benefits

An easy-to-use and cost effective way to handle your business’ finances can make a huge difference to your day-to-day operations. At the heart of your financial activity, you’ll need a business account that’s flexible and can match your ambitions. While traditional banks may be the first choice to consider, they’re not the only choice. 

Let's compare a popular business account offering from Macquarie Bank, a traditional Australian bank, and Airwallex, a leading Australian fintech platform for businesses.

What is Macquarie Bank?

Macquarie Bank, part of the Macquarie Group, is a well-established financial institution founded in 1969. The bank provides a range of services such as consumer and business banking, loans, foreign exchange, and investment advisory.

Macquarie Bank offers a range of business bank accounts, but their main one is the Macquarie Bank Cash Management Account which is an online-only bank account. 

What is Airwallex? 

Airwallex is an Aussie fintech, not a bank. Founded in 2015, Airwallex is an all-in-one financial platform to simplify global business management and facilitate international expansion.

Our core features include:

• Multi-currency accounts to collect, hold and transact balances in 23+ major currencies and accept payments from 130+ currencies

• Yield, our high-rate business saver  

• Fast and cost-effective cross-border payments 

• End-to-end tools for expense management

• Integrations with popular business platforms

Compare Macquarie Bank with Airwallex

This table compares the features of Macquarie Bank Cash Management Account and Airwallex’s Business Account (available on our starter bundle, ‘Explore’). 

Note: Information is accurate as of 1 December, 2024.

Macquarie Bank Cash Management Account fees explained 

Account fees: Macquarie Bank has no monthly fees for their Cash Management Account, which offers users the basics of sending and receiving money.

Transaction fees: For local transfers and bulk payments, Macquarie Bank charges 20c per line of transaction. Unlike Airwallex, Macquarie Bank doesn't offer any international transfers as only Australian dollars can be collected in this account. 

FX rates: For users of this account to receive money internationally, they would require another third-party account like Airwallex to convert the foreign currency into AUD. Learn more about Airwallex FX and transfers. 

Card fees: There are no card fees. However, Macquarie Bank doesn't offer additional cards for employees.

Additional fees: There's a $10 dishonour fee charged per dishonour. 

Airwallex Business Account fees explained

Account fees: Airwallex’s ‘Explore’ bundle is offered at $29 /month or $0 if you deposit $5k per month or hold a minimum balance of $10k. With this bundle, users access our dynamic Business Account, our Payment Acceptance features, up to 10 corporate cards, and helpful integrations.

Transaction fees: Airwallex doesn’t charge transaction fees to the 110+ countries where we have access to local payment networks so you can collect, hold, and send multiple currencies at no or low cost. 

FX rate: Airwallex only charges 0.5 - 1% above the interbank rate for currency exchange.

Card fees: Airwallex Employee Cards are free for the first 2 cardholders, then come at a cost of $15 per month for each additional card holder. ‌Employee Cards allow admins to easily track, approve, and reconcile expenses online. 

Users can create Airwallex virtual cards to spend in multiple currencies at home and abroad with 0% transaction fees.

Compare additional features between Macquarie Bank and Airwallex

Global accounts: Airwallex uniquely offers multi-currency accounts in 23 countries, allowing users to receive and send money seamlessly in 160+ different currencies with no hidden fees. Macquarie Bank doesn't offer multi-currency accounts or any global payout coverage. Limited to AUD, users of the Macquarie Bank account would require a third-party provider to convert to local currency to receive international payments. 

Cards: Airwallex’s ‘Explore’ bundle offers users two free employee cards and up to 10 company cards. This allows businesses to empower employees to manage business-related expenses, which are seamlessly integrated into Airwallex for easy expense management. Macquarie Bank only offers a single card for each account, which users can authorise other individuals to access. 

Payment gateway: Airwallex’s Business Account offers extensive Payment Acceptance capabilities, including custom Payment Links and no-code checkout solutions. Macquarie Bank doesn't offer payment acceptance services, but users may request a call to integrate with commercial software. 

Savers: Macquarie Business Savings Account offers 4.65%* interest on idle funds in AUD only. ‌With an Airwallex Business Account, all users have access to Yield, our high-rate business saver, that empowers users to earn returns in both USD and AUD, with no lock-up period. Users can earn 3.81%* on AUD or 3.16%* on USD (accurate as of 27 Feb, 2025).

Consider Airwallex for a complete financial operations solution

Both platforms offer ways to handle day-to-day transactions for businesses with local supplies and customers. Whilst a traditional bank is often the immediate thought for businesses to handle their financial operations, Airwallex may be one to consider as an innovative all-in-one solution. 

While Macquarie Bank offers bulk payments and integrations smoothly with other Macquarie Bank systems, their account is limited compared to Airwallex’s Business Account. 

Airwallex offers free local and international transfers, competitive FX rates, global coverage with 130+ currencies whilst Macquarie only allows users to operate with AUD. Within a single Airwallex Business Account, users also have access to payment acceptance solutions, employee cards, our high-rate saver - Yield, and accounting integrations with Xero and Quickbooks. All these additional features create a powerful single platform that allows Airwallex to do more than traditional banks. 

Sources

1. https://www.macquarie.com.au/digital-banking/business-banking-deposits-terms-and-conditions.html#tab-panels-0-introduction 

2. https://www.macquarie.com.au/investing/cash-management-account.html 

3. https://www.macquarie.com.au/help/business/collecting-payments/overseas-payments/payments-from-overseas.html 

4. https://www.macquarie.com.au/business-banking/business-accounts/savings-account.html

Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on our own online research. Airwallex was not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed annually. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

The Airwallex Yield Liquidity Fund (Yield) is issued by K2 Asset Management Limited (K2) (ABN 95 085 445 094, AFSL No 244393), a wholly owned subsidiary of K2 Asset Management Holdings Limited. This information doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Financial Services Guide (FSG) for Yield, available at www.airwallex.com.au/terms from Airwallex Capital Pty Ltd (ABN 37 609 653 312, AFSL No. 549026). All investments carry risk.