Top 5 Payoneer alternatives: Compare fees, features and benefits

In today’s global business environment, Singapore businesses across all industries work with international suppliers or customers. To stay competitive, businesses need cost-effective and efficient ways to handle cross-border payments. 

However, 50% of B2B companies in Singapore still use wire transfers for international payments¹, which come with hefty fees. Meanwhile, 29% of B2B companies said that managing foreign exchange and regulations was a key challenge for receiving overseas payments.²

Fintech platforms like Payoneer promise to simplify global payments for businesses, but is it the right solution for you? Read on to learn more about Payoneer, recommended Payoneer alternatives in Singapore, and why Airwallex’s end-to-end payments platform might be a better choice for your business.

What is Payoneer?

Payoneer is a financial services company that helps businesses, freelancers and marketplace users send and accept worldwide payments.

Its payment platform facilitates domestic and international money transfers, digital payments and also provides some customers with working capital. Products include prepaid debit cards and a multi-currency business account.

The platform accepts payments in over 70 local currencies, but balances and direct transactions can only be held in USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, JPY, HKD, SGD and AED. 

It’s free to sign up to Payoneer, although they charge withdrawal fees and account inactivity fees. Payoneer also charges a small fee for receiving payments directly from clients or marketplaces like AirBnb and Upwork. 

The top 5 alternatives to Payoneer 

While Payoneer is a popular business account, it has its limitations. Your businesses may have unique needs that require solutions like local currency accounts and forex risk management. Read on to understand the top 5 alternatives to Payoneer in Singapore. 

Airwallex

Airwallex is an end-to-end payment platform engineered to help businesses go global. 

Our Business Account lets you instantly open 23+ currency accounts with a dedicated account number and local branch and bank code. This lets you collect local currency payments without unnecessary conversion to SGD. Our network of local payment rails in 110+ countries also lets you bypass the SWIFT network when making international transfers. 90% of transfers arrive the same day at near-zero fees.

On top of international transfers, Airwallex also has an eCommerce payment gateway that lets you accept payments from customers in 180+ countries and 160+ local payment methods, like Alipay in China. Unlike Payoneer’s Checkout Solution, we offer like-for-like settlement in 11 currencies.³ You can accept and hold USD, EUR, and other foreign currency payments in your Airwallex account and use these to pay overseas suppliers, without unnecessary conversion to SGD. 

With Airwallex, you don’t need to have banking relationships in the markets where you operate, and you can manage all your payment needs in one platform.

Aspire

Aspire is a Singapore fintech firm that offers business accounts in 5 currencies, corporate cards, expense management, and payment services. Their platform is built for local SMEs who want to try using digital-first payments, with services like GIRO, local payroll that supports CPF and tax payments, and PayNow QR code creation. Aspire also uses Wise’s infrastructure to offer cross-border payments and currency exchange, which means their fees and global coverage are dependent on Wise. 

Revolut

Revolut is a UK-based financial technology company that offers a money management app and debit card for individuals. In August 2024, Revolut Business launched in Singapore with services like multi-currency accounts, global transfers, debit cards, and expense management. 

Wise Business

Wise is a fintech platform that offers affordable international transfers to individuals and businesses. With Wise Business, you can accept payments in 9 currencies via local bank details, and convert currencies using Wise’s mid-market rates. Wise also offers debit cards, batch payments, and accounting integrations. 

YouBiz

YouBiz is a business payment product from YouTrip. They offer a corporate card, multi-currency business accounts, and expense management. Singapore SMEs can open multi-currency accounts in up to 9 different currencies, including SGD, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, HKD, AUD, CHF, and THB.  

Compare the top 5 alternatives to Payoneer

We’ve researched the best Payoneer alternatives and compared the different features that Singapore businesses care about. These include multi-currency accounts, transfer fees, and account fees.

Why choose Airwallex over Payoneer?

Although many businesses and freelancers use Payoneer, Airwallex’s wide global reach can make it a compelling alternative. Designed for businesses of all sizes, our single platform provides multi-currency accounts, fast international transfers, Borderless Cards, Expense Management, and seamless online payments—all in one place. In this section, we’ll delve into cross-border payments, an area where Payoneer specializes and where Airwallex brings unique advantages.

With just a few clicks, Airwallex lets you set up 23+ local currency accounts with local bank details in 60+ countries. You can accept foreign currency payments in these accounts without converting to SGD.  

On the other hand, Payoneer balances are only held in EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY and USD, with USD being the default settlement currency. If you have customers in Singapore, you’ll have to pay a 0.5% conversion fee every time you get paid, as all SGD payments are automatically converted into USD.

As you’ll see from the table below, Airwallex does not charge any fees for international transfers or withdrawals into your bank account.  With Payoneer, transfers are only free if you’re moving money to and from another Payoneer account. Otherwise, you pay a fee to send domestic payments or to withdraw funds into your own bank account. 

The table below summarises the differences between Airwallex and Payoneer’s services and fees.

What questions should I ask when choosing alternative providers to Payoneer?

Here are the top 10 most important questions for you to consider when choosing an alternative to Payoneer. Use these as a handy guide when doing your research.

1. How many currency accounts do you offer, and what are the currencies? 

2. What payment services do you offer? 

3. If you have an eCommerce payment gateway, can I receive and hold money in multiple currencies? If yes, what are the currencies?

4. Do you charge fees when I receive foreign currency payments? Do you charge fees for withdrawing funds to our bank account?

5. What are your currency conversion charges?

6. What are your security credentials?

7. Are there any setup or ongoing monthly fees?

8. Can you offer an affordable alternative to SWIFT transfers? Do you have a support team based in Singapore?  

Final thoughts on alternatives to Payoneer

To solve the complex challenges of global payments, you’ll need a unified platform that offers low-cost transfers, multi-currency accounts, and friendly exchange rates. In this article, we’ve covered several Payoneer alternatives in Singapore that outperform them in key areas, such as free domestic transfers and more multi-currency accounts.

It’s worth taking the time to compare your options. While each platform offers solutions for cross-border payment challenges, it's important to find one that addresses your business's specific needs. Airwallex’s full suite of solutions is built to meet diverse business needs.

With over 100,000 customers around the world, Airwallex has the following benefits:

• Instantly open an account in more than 60 countries with local bank details (so you don’t have to open bank accounts in markets where you operate) 

• Pay zero or close to zero fees for international transfers to 110+ countries when you use local payment rails. 90% of transfers arrive on the same day. 

• Free domestic transfers and withdrawals to your bank account 

• An eCommerce payment gateway that lets them accept payments from customers in 180+ countries and 160+ local payment methods, such as Alipay in China. 

• Reduced foreign exchange risk with interbank exchange rates and risk management solutions 

• 1% unlimited cashback on all local and international spend with the Airwallex Borderless Card, on all categories like SAAS subscriptions or travel expenses

Build a thriving global business with Airwallex today. Create a free account now, or view case studies that show how Airwallex fueled the growth of Singapore businesses like yours.

Sources

1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1480588/singapore-popular-methods-to-send-cross-border-b2b-payments/

2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1480597/singapore-challenges-of-receiving-cross-border-payments-b2b

3. https://checkoutdocs.payoneer.com/docs/about-payouts#:~:text=Supported%20settlement%20currencies,settlement%20currency%20will%20be%20USD.

4. https://www.revolut.com/en-SG/business/business-account-plans/

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

6. https://aspireapp.com/pricing

7. https://wise.com/sg/pricing/business

8. https://youbiz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6188587658393-Is-there-a-fee-for-sending-money-overseas

9. https://www.payoneer.com/commercial-card/

10. https://www.payoneer.com/manage-currencies

This publication does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice from Airwallex nor substitute seeking such advice, and makes no express or implied representations / warranties / guarantees regarding content accuracy, completeness, or currency. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [[email protected]]. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (201626561Z) is licensed as a Major Payment Institution and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.