PayPal vs Airwallex: compare on fees, features and benefits

If you run an eCommerce business, you'll need an online payment gateway to accept credit and debit card payments from customers. Both Paypal and Airwallex offer payment gateways that plug into your eCommerce store, but which solution is right for your business?

Read on to find out how Airwallex compares against Paypal on price, features and benefits. 

What is PayPal?

PayPal is a platform that allows customers to buy online without giving their sensitive financial information to sellers.

Today, PayPal operates in most countries around the world. It has 426 million active users and total payment volume reached $1.53 trillion in Q4 of 2023¹.

PayPal has also developed additional features to help customers manage their money.

What is Airwallex?

Airwallex is a one-stop solution for business financial operations. Airwallex offers a huge suite of tools which support businesses, including dynamic payment tools which help businesses optimise their customer experience.

The Airwallex online payment gateway integrates seamlessly with eCommerce platforms, offering hyper-competitive processing fees, and the ability to eliminate unnecessary FX conversion fees.

Airwallex empowers users to accept payments from customers in 180+ countries and regions through a variety of payment methods, including popular local options like WeChat Pay and AliPay. 

Compare PayPal vs Airwallex

Use our comparison table to see how PayPal measures up against Airwallex on fees, features and benefits.

PayPal fees explained

Although it’s free to open a PayPal for Business account, as soon as you start receiving or sending money you’ll pay a fee.

If you’re moving funds across borders, PayPal’s international fees can stack up very quickly.

The platform has a complex payment structure with many variables that change depending on the type of transaction and where you’re receiving money from.   

For receiving international commercial transactions, PayPal charges 3.6%-4.6%.. The company combines the standard domestic transaction fees, plus an additional percentage-based fee for receiving overseas payments.

There’s also an additional fee for international business transactions that involve a currency conversion. This is 3% above the base exchange rate⁷.

Airwallex fees explained

Airwallex fees are different because we’ve invested in our local payment network to make the transfer of funds internationally quicker and more cost-effective. For international payments in the majority of countries (110+), we won’t charge you any transaction fees. For traditional SWIFT transfers to 150+ countries, flat fees apply.

You can accept and hold 23 currencies in an Airwallex business account without incurring any fees.

If you need to convert currencies, our FX rates are interbank rate + 0.5% for USD, HKD, CNY, AUD, EUR, GBP, CAD, SGD, CHF, NZD, JPY, or 1.0% for all other currencies.

From your multi-currency business account, you can spend directly in 10+ countries with virtual and physical cards with 0% foreign transaction fees. If you don’t have the currency balance, we’ll auto-convert your available funds in your home currency at market-leading FX rates.

Our customers pay a monthly fee for high-value bundles, with our ‘Grow’ tier only costing $29/month or $0/month if businesses meet a modest fee waiver. Learn more about our pricing here.

Compare additional features between PayPal and Airwallex 

Payment methods

• How you receive payments with PayPal changes with the size of your business. Enterprises can accept card payments online and at POS, PayPal balances, buy-now-pay-later and 10+ local payment methods from 200+ countries.

• Airwallex facilitates online payments including cards, 180+ local payment methods in 180+ countries, no-code payment links and customisable checkouts via API.

Debit cards

• PayPal offers a business debit card that lets users pay with their PayPal balance in stores and online with no annual fee. Airwallex Borderless Cards can be used in 10+ currencies directly, or any currency supported by Visa. The first five employee cards are free and come with an in-built expense management tool.

Credit

• PayPal Working Capital is a cash advance between$1,000-$230,000, based on your PayPal sales, account history and other criteria.

• Airwallex products don’t include credit.

Expense management

• PayPal cards have basic control features like automatic and recurring payments.

• Airwallex helps teams track and control spending globally through spending limits, multi-layer approvals and a centralised dashboard to submit expenses and see cash flow.

Consider Airwallex for your growing business’ global reach

 Airwallex and PayPal have differences in fees and additional capabilities.

Airwallex is designed purely for businesses. As an end-to-end financial solution, we support ambitious companies with a variety of features including expense management, reporting and supporting accounts payable.

PayPal is recognised across the world and it’s a great fit for ad-hoc international money transfers. But if you’re looking for an all-in-one financial partner who can help you beyond receiving and accepting payments, it may fall short. 

Plus, if you’re moving money across borders, PayPal’s high transaction fees can add up quickly.

Airwallex is an alternative solution that could help you slash hidden costs with zero hidden fees, market-leading FX rates and integrated financial management tools.

Sources & References

1. https://www.paypal.com/au/enterprise/payment-processing

2. https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees

3. https://www.paypal.com/au/business/financial-services/working-capita

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]].

This information doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. If you are a customer of Airwallex Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 487221) it is important for you to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the Direct Services, which is available here.