Wise vs Airwallex: compare on fees, features and benefits

If you run an online business selling to international customers, you'll need a way to easily collect payments in multiple currencies and transfer funds across borders to pay suppliers, advertising spend or staff. Wise and Airwallex both aim to facilitate seamless global money transfers, but how do they compare on price and key features? Read on to find out.

What is Wise?

Wise launched in 2011 as a consumer-focused international money transfer service. Over 13 years, it has expanded into business accounts and other financial services while maintaining a reputation for low-cost currency exchange and transfers.

Wise offers multi-currency accounts to hold and convert funds, accepting payments in nine currencies with local bank details and facilitating transfers to 70+ countries.

What is Airwallex?

Founded in 2015, Airwallex aims to enable seamless global business money management. Unlike Wise, Airwallex only is a platform to businesses, providing an all-in-one platform to easily manage finances across borders.

With Airwallex, domestic and international customer payments flow into a multi-currency wallet. Businesses can then pay suppliers and contractors abroad with rapid transfers – no costly transfer fees required.

Wise fees explained

For Wise business account holders, fees consist of:

• Account opening: Free to register. AUD$22 to get account details in 10 currencies. Differs by country.(1)

• International transfers & FX conversions: A fixed fee plus variable fees starting from ~0.35% per transfer. Differs by currency and rails used – e.g. local, SWIFT(2). 

• Card Transactions: First card is free. One time AUD$6 fee for each additional card for team members(3). Cash withdrawals from ATMs may also incur a fee. 

Airwallex fees explained  

For Airwallex users, fees consist of: 

• Subscription: "Explore" bundle offered at $29 /month or $0 if you deposit at least $5k per month or hold a minimum balance of $10k. Discover all pricing bundles.

• International transfers & FX conversions: No transfer fees for the majority of currencies on local rails in 110+ countries. Flat fees apply for SWIFT transfers to 150+ countries. FX Rate: Interbank rate + 0.5% for USD, HKD, CNY, AUD, EUR, GBP, CAD, SGD, CHF, NZD, JPY, And 1.0% for all other currencies.

• Card transactions: Spend directly in 10+ currencies from your multi-currency wallet. For all other currencies, auto-converts from your domestic or designated currency for a small fee.

Wise vs Airwallex additional features compared 

Online payments: Wise offers limited ability for businesses to accept payments via cards(4). Airwallex is a fully functioning payment gateway which allows businesses to collect customer online payments, including card payments and 160+ local payment methods in 180+ countries.

Borderless cards: Wise offers teams (AUD$6 for each additional card) to make online and in-store payments either physically or via a digital wallet, and offers cashback depending on location(3). Airwallex borderless cards can be spent in 10 currencies, or any currency supported by Visa. Our “Explore” bundle includes up to 10 company cards and 2 employee cards. Both Wise and Airwallex enable auto-conversion for a small-fee if there is not enough funds in the wallet in the specified transaction currency.  

Team expenses: While Wise has basic card control features, Airwallex provides end-to-end tools for teams to track and control spend globally whether on cards or reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. All expense data is seamlessly synced with popular accounting integrations.

Bills and accounts payable: Airwallex centralises accounts payable workflows so finance teams can consolidate domestic and global supplier payments. Both Wise and Airwallex have integrations with Xero and Quickbooks, and can process batch payments of up to 1000.

Developer platform and APIs: For developers and technical teams, Airwallex opens access to advanced APIs opportunities to transform financial operations. Wise provides limited developer options tailored to basic needs (10).  

Customer support: Both platforms offer 24/7 customer support. Airwallex also provides account management and onboarding assistance for eligible businesses.

Final thoughts: Wise vs Airwallex

Which global financial platform is right for your business? While Wise offers solid rates for peer-to-peer consumers and micro businesses, Airwallex provides a complete solution for growing, mid-market and enterprise-scale companies managing complexity across borders.  

With extensive capabilities for collections and payouts worldwide, zero hidden fees, market-leading FX rates, and integrated financial management tools, Airwallex is purposely built to help businesses grow in the modern digital economy.

Sources: 

For more information on Airwallex, visit Airwallex Business Account and Airwallex pricing.

1. https://wise.com/au/pricing/business

2. https://wise.com/au/pricing/business/send-money

3. https://wise.com/au/pricing/business/card-fees

4. https://wise.com/au/pricing/business/receive

5. https://wise.com/au/pricing/business/hold-fees

6. https://wise.com/au/business/

7. https://wise.com/au/business/app-marketplace

8. https://wise.com/help/articles/2899986/what-are-my-spending-limits

9. https://wise.com/au/business/manage-team

10. https://wise.com/au/business/api

11. https://wise.com/au/business/interest

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q1 2024. The information was based on our own online research and we were 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 every six months. 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.