Western Union vs Airwallex: compare on fees, features and benefits

When running a business, finding a platform that lets you transfer and receive money simply and quickly is so important. Especially as you deal with global suppliers and customers, it becomes critical that you find a cost effective way to make multi-currency transactions. Both Western Union and Airwallex offer international transfers, but which solution is right for your business? 

Read on to find out how Airwallex compares to Western Union on price, features and benefits. 

What is Western Union? 

Western Union (WU) is a financial platform offering global remittance services across more than 200 countries and regions. Founded in 1851 in New York, the company is headquartered in the United States, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. 

Although Western Union has an Enterprise Program, it is predominantly a B2C (business to consumer) service. It does not have a specific program or service for small or medium-sized businesses.

What is Airwallex? 

Airwallex is a one-stop solution for business financial operations. 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 receive funds globally through the ability to create Global Accounts in over 60+ countries whilst also easily converting funds and holding multi-currency balances. Users can avoid unnecessary conversion markups as Airwallex’s international payment rails allow users to conduct foreign exchange transactions at 0.5-1% of interbank rates. With like-for-like settlements in over 14 currencies, businesses can avoid the markup completely. 

While Western Union offers accounts for individuals and businesses, Airwallex caters to businesses of all sizes and provides additional capabilities. Aside from competitive transfer fees, Airwallex uniquely offers expense management, accounting tools and data analytics, creating a singular end-to-end solution for businesses. 

Compare Western Union and Airwallex 

This table compares the features of Western Union’s offerings and Airwallex’s Business Account (available on our starter bundle, ‘Explore’). 

Western Union fees, explained

Transaction fees: Western Union transaction fees vary depending on the method and the transaction amount. WU provides a price estimate calculator on their site. 

Withdrawal fees: Domestic ATM cash withdrawals are $2 each. 

FX rate: Varies based on supply and demand of each currency.  

Card fees: To obtain a WU Prepaid Visa card, it costs USD2.95. There is also a reload fee of USD1.95 and USD0.50 charge per transaction.⁶

Airwallex fees explained

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 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 allows 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 Western Union and Airwallex

• Global Accounts: Both Western Union and Airwallex offer international transfers with extensive reach, yet only Airwallex offers a multi-currency account. Western Union offers a single account that allows users to transfer and receive money overseas, hence Airwallex offers users with a more competitive edge with lower international fees. With access to 23 multi-currency accounts, like-for-like settlements in 14 countries and 180+ currencies, Airwallex customers are spoiled for choice in reducing their fees and allowing customers to pay in their local currency. 

• Expenses: Airwallex differentiates itself through the ability for users to issue cards and report on team expenditure. Airwallex provides automation to eliminate manual expense oversight. Western Union does not offer any expense management tools. 

• Support: All Airwallex customers receive customer support and hands-on account managers can be assigned to eligible Airwallex customers for personalised assistance navigating the global finance intricacies enterprises face daily. Western Union offers customers with support via phone call to their Australian or international offices. 

• Global growth: Beyond basic currency conversions, transfers and payments functions for individuals and businesses, Western Union does not offer much more. Airwallex offers specialised solutions around revenue stream management, optimised global fund flows, multi-entity account grouping and centralised reporting. Airwallex offers an end-to-end financial solution for businesses. 

Consider Airwallex for your business' end-to-end financial operations

For scaling companies which are looking to streamline their financial operations, Airwallex has a clear edge over Western Union for its advanced capabilities that are designed for businesses of all sizes.

While Western Union is catered for individuals with compatibility with over 200+ countries, growing companies may need more than just sending and receiving money. 

Airwallex provides businesses with multi-currency accounts, expense management tools, analytical capabilities, plus virtual cards for your teams and integrations with everyday accounting and eCommerce tools. From holding balances globally to moving money instantly with real-time oversight – Airwallex unlocks software-supported capabilities necessary to confidently accelerate cross-border at an enterprise pace.

Sources

1. https://www.westernunion.com/mywu/au/ 

2. https://www.westernunion.com/au/en/web/send-money/start 

3. https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/send-money/app/price-estimator

4. https://www.westernunion.com/blog/en/send-receive-money-western-union-2/ 

5. https://www.westernunion.com/staticassets/R24-10.3.0/media/FINAL_GPR_with_Temp_PDF_8.25.23.pdf 

6. https://www.westernunion.com/au/en/contact-us.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.