Payoneer vs Airwallex: compare on fees, features and benefits

Airwallex and Payoneer both offer similar services, such as international transfer and online payment acceptance, but which is the better choice for your business? We’ve created this blog to help you make up your own mind. 

What is Payoneer?

Payoneer is a payment platform that enables businesses to collect and payout funds in multiple currencies. The platform can also convert funds from one currency to another, offers prepaid debit cards, and integrates with marketplaces such as Airbnb, Amazon and eBay for easy payment acceptance. 

It’s free to send funds to and get paid from another Payoneer account. However, fees are considerably high for transactions to and from other accounts - 3.99% to get paid and 3% to make payments. A minimum fee may apply for transactions involving currency exchange. 

What is Airwallex?

Airwallex is a one-stop financial platform, offering multi-currency business account, payment solution and other high-value tools to streamline financial operations. Like Payoneer, we allow businesses to receive and send money in multiple currencies. But unlike Payoneer we do not charge transaction or withdrawal fees via local rails. That means you can manage your money across borders and currencies for less. Airwallex offers market-beating interbank exchange rates, which is also more competitive than Payoneer.

Airwallex and Payoneer share many of the same features, including the ability to open multiple foreign currency accounts, exchange currencies, and transfer and accept payments internationally. Airwallex also offers virtual Visa cards as well as various online payment solutions. 

Compare Payoneer vs Airwallex

Use our table to compare Airwallex and Payoneer on price, fees, FX rates and benefits.

*You will be charged an annual account fee of US$29.95 if you don’t make a transaction via Payoneer in any 12 month period.

Payoneer’s fees explained  

Transaction fees

Payoneer offers free transactions to and from other Payoneer accounts. For all other transactions, they charge a fee. So, unless your clients and suppliers also use Payoneer, you will be charged whenever you collect or send money from your account.

Paying in: 

If your clients pay by credit card, Payoneer will charge you up to 3.99% of the transaction value. If your clients pay by local bank transfer , you’ll be charged 1%. 

Payoneer has a relationship with companies including Fiverr, Upwork and Airbnb. The cost of accepting payments from these companies varies depending on each marketplace. You can check their websites for more details.

Paying out: 

Payoneer charges up to 3% fee unless you’re sending money to another Payoneer account. 

For more information on Payoneer’s transaction fees, see the fees page of their website.

Withdrawal fees

Payoneer will charge you to withdraw funds from your account into an external account like your business bank account.  

If you’re withdrawing funds into an alternative currency account,e.g. USD into a HKD account, Payoneer charges up to 3% of the transaction value. You will have to pay this fee in addition to the FX rate. Even for withdrawals in the same currency, a minimum fee may still apply.

FX & Transfer fees

Payoneer charges a currency exchange fee of 0.5 - 3.5% above the mid-market rate. The 0.5% rate applies only if you’re converting funds from one Payoneer account to another. For all other transactions involving currency conversion with Payoneer card, the higher rate of up to 3.5% applies. 

Card fees

The Payoneer card is only available in USD, EUR, GBP and CAD. Payoneer charges an annual fee of US$29.95 for their prepaid MasterCard debit cards. They also charge ATM withdrawal fees and balance enquiries will cost additional.

Additional fees

• Payoneer charges a 0.5% fee to move funds between your currency balances. That’s on top of the FX fee.  

• If your account is inactive for 12 months, you will be charged a US$29.95 fee.

Airwallex fees explained

Transaction fees 

Airwallex has built its global infrastructure on local payment networks. That means we don't charge transaction fees to the 110+ countries where we have access to local payment networks; over 90% of all payouts on the Airwallex platform are routed through local payment networks. This means you can use your Airwallex account to collect and send multiple currencies at no or low cost. 

We also don’t charge withdrawal fees, meaning you can move funds from your Airwallex account to another bank account for free. 

FX rate

Airwallex charges as low as 0.2% above the interbank rate for currency exchange.

Card fees

You can issue Employee Cards for free with Airwallex. Our Employee Cards are compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and are integrated with Airwallex Expenses, which allows you to easily track, approve and reconcile your expenses online. (Expense management costs HK$40 per cardholder per month)

In addition, Company Cards are also free. You can use Company Cards to spend in multiple currencies at home and abroad with 0% international transaction fees. 

Create new cards in a tap, set spending limits and track spending at a card level in the app. 

Payment acceptance

With an Airwallex account, you can accept direct transfers from customers and collect funds from platforms such as PayPal, Shopify and Stripe in multiple currencies at zero cost.  

If you have an eCommerce store, you can integrate Airwallex with your checkout for cheaper Online Payments. You can also create multi-currency Payment Links that allow your customers to pay you securely in a click. Airwallex charges a competitive fee for Online Payments and Payment Links, making this a cost-effective way to accept card payments.

• 3.3% + HK$2.35 for Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay and Google Pay

• 3.6% + HK$2.35 for international cards

• 0.4% for subscription management (per successful transaction, API only)

Payoneer vs Airwallex additional features & benefits compared

When choosing a payment platform for your business, we know that price is top of mind, which is why Airwallex is committed to providing businesses with the best rates on the market. 

But price is not the only consideration. You also need to ensure that your chosen payment solution suits your business’ needs. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the Airwallex and Payoneer platforms compare on features and benefits.

Currency accounts

Airwallex

Open local accounts in 23+ currencies.

We're constantly adding new currencies. Check out here for the latest information.

Payoneer 

Open local accounts in 10 currencies.

Transfers & FX

Airwallex

• Transfer funds to 150+ countries

• No transaction fees when sending money to 110+ countries by local rails

• As low as 0.2% above interbank FX rate

• Flexible transaction limits

Payoneer

• Transfer funds to 190+ countries

• Up to 3% transaction fee unless sending to another Payoneer account

• 0.5 - 3% FX rate

Payment acceptance

Airwallex

• Like-for-like multi-currency collection from 11+ currencies.

• Free payment collection via bank transfer.

• Send multi-currency Payment Links to customers for faster payment at competitive rates (see pricing here).

• Integrate Airwallex with your eCommerce store, including Shopify and WooComemrce, for cost-effective global payment collection.

Payoneer

• Collect funds directly from eBay, Amazon, Klarna, Wish, Airbnb, Lazada, Fiverr and 20 other marketplaces (rates vary by market). 

• Send multi-currency payment requests to customers (3% fee for cards, 1% fee for local bank transfers, unless your customer has a Payoneer account, in which case collection is free).

Cards

Airwallex

• Issue Visa cards for free

• No transaction fees

• Pay directly from your multi-currency balance at no cost

• FX fee from 0.2% above interbank rate applies when converting currencies 

• Issue virtual and physical Employee Cards to your team, upload and approve receipts in a tap and automatically sync your expense data with Xero and QuickBooks for an easier way to manage team expenses. 

• Track spending on a card level in the app

• Use anywhere Visa is accepted 

Payoneer

• Pre-paid MasterCard debit card

• Annual fee of US$29.95

• Only available in USD, GBP, EUR and CAD

• Up to 3.5% fee for transactions involving currency conversion

• Up to 1.8% for cross-border fee (where merchant country is different from card-issuing country)

• Fees apply for ATM withdrawal and balance enquiry

• Use anywhere MasterCard is accepted 

Accounting software integration

Airwallex

Integrates with Xero, NetSuite,Quickbooks, Sage, Odoo and Kingdee

Payoneer

Integrates with Xero and Quickbooks. 

Final thoughts: Payoneer vs Airwallex 

Payoneer offers its customers good value transfers and FX rates when sending and receiving money from another Payoneer account. But when dealing with clients and suppliers who don’t use Payoneer, things can quickly get expensive. 

Airwallex offers competitive FX rates and zero transaction fees through local rails no matter where you're sending or receiving money from, along with a range of additional benefits that can help you manage your money efficiently across borders. 

If you’d like to learn more about Airwallex, sign up for a free account today.

Sources: 

Information on Payoneer was retrieved as of August 2024, from below sources. Information provided is for reference only. Please refer to the official website for the most up-to-date details

1. https://www.payoneer.com/about/fees/#pay-your-supplier

2. https://www.payoneer.com/about/pricing/

3. https://www.payoneer.com/payoneer-account/

Disclaimer: 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 6 months. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].