Top 5 Payoneer alternatives in the US: Compare fees, features, & benefits

Managing payments effectively becomes more complex as your business grows and enters new markets; however, it’s crucial for sustaining growth. With numerous payment platforms available, choosing the right one can be challenging. The ideal solution should allow you to open local accounts in various currencies, accept payments seamlessly from international customers, and facilitate cross-border transactions without excessive fees. Each platform brings unique features, fee structures, and capabilities that can impact your operational efficiency and bottom line.

While Payoneer is one option to consider, exploring other alternatives can help you find the solution best suited to your growth goals and financial needs.

What is Payoneer?

Payoneer is a payment platform designed to help businesses and individuals manage funds in multiple currencies. It offers options to collect, hold, and transfer payments worldwide. The platform also provides prepaid debit cards and integrates with major online marketplaces, supporting cross-border transactions.

Within its own network, Payoneer generally offers lower transaction and foreign exchange fees, especially for transfers between Payoneer accounts. However, fees can be higher for transactions involving external accounts.

For larger businesses, Payoneer includes embedded finance and API features, enabling financial services to be integrated directly within business platforms. These options include embedded payment pages, shopping cart plugins, and APIs that support a seamless customer experience. While Payoneer supports a range of payment methods, its card acceptance capabilities are more limited compared to other providers.

The top alternatives to Payoneer

Exploring options beyond Payoneer? Here are five notable alternatives and what makes each competitive: 

• Airwallex: Founded in 2015, Airwallex is a global financial platform that enables businesses to collect, hold, convert, and send multi-currency payments. It also provides embedded finance tools that allow platforms to integrate financial services directly, facilitating in-app payments, smooth checkout experiences, and streamlined FX management.

• PayPal: Operating for more than 20 years, PayPal serves as a versatile payment gateway for eCommerce brands. It supports its own branded PayPal wallet, credit and debit card payments, and bank transfers and offers broad consumer reach. While primarily a payment processor, PayPal offers integration options but does not focus on embedded finance features. 

• Square: Known for its in-store and online point-of-sale (POS) system, Square provides a comprehensive suite of tools for payment processing, inventory management, and financial reporting, making it a popular choice for retailers. 

• Wise: Established in 2011, Wise offers multi-currency accounts that allow users to hold, convert, and send payments internationally. Its embedded finance capabilities include API access and multiple onboarding options — host redirect, embedded, and Accounts API — providing flexible integration for businesses. While Wise's services are primarily designed for individual consumers, companies can utilize its platform. However, B2B transactions may encounter additional steps or fees, and some features may be more consumer-oriented.

• Stripe: The Stripe platform offers a full suite of online payment solutions, including a POS system for in-person payments and an eCommerce payment gateway. Through Stripe Connect, it also provides embedded finance capabilities, such as customizable onboarding, payments, and monetization tools, making it a popular choice for platforms and marketplaces looking to offer payments as a product to their own customers.

Compare the top 5 alternatives to Payoneer in the US

 Why choose Airwallex over Payoneer?

*When using local rails

**For corporate card accounts

What questions should I ask when choosing a Payoneer alternative?

Here are ten important questions for you when considering an alternative to Payoneer.

• What payment methods do you support?

• What are the transaction fees, and do they vary?

• What currencies do you support?

• What are the currency conversion charges?

• What are your security credentials?

• Are there any setup or ongoing monthly fees?

• Are there any early termination fees?

• Are there minimum transactions or volume amounts? 

• What kind of customer support do you offer?

• What integrations do you offer?

Conclusion 

When assessing Payoneer competitors, consider Airwallex if your business is expanding and requires reliable cross-border payment capabilities. Like Payoneer, Airwallex is known for supporting global business accounts, though the fees are lower and offerings more robust with Airwallex.

As an end-to-end financial solution, Airwallex offers expense management, multi-currency accounts, and corporate cards. You can use our technology to accept customer payments in multiple currencies, manage funds to optimize cash flow and handle international payments with competitive exchange rates. Airwallex also supports a range of embedded finance solutions — and APIs — so you can simplify transactions and offer financial services in-house to increase revenue.

While Payoneer is free if you’re moving money to and from another Payoneer account, the 3% fee when dealing with other accounts and inactivity fees can be complicated and costly for business.¹⁰ In contrast, Airwallex customers — from established SaaS enterprises to growing eCommerce retailers — pay no fees for transactions with non-Airwallex customers while also benefiting from 0% international and domestic transaction fees.

Both Payoneer and Airwallex offer multi-currency business accounts, but there's one major difference: While a Payoneer customer can hold their balance in nine currencies, Airwallex supports 20+.

If your business is growing, mid-market, or enterprise level, consider Airwallex as a holistic financial partner that enables you to save money while managing money across borders. 

Sources & references

1. https://www.paypal.com/enterprise/payment-methods

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

3. https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees

4. https://squareup.com/us/en/buy-now-pay-later 

5. https://wise.com/business/receive-money

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

7. https://stripe.com/pricing

8. https://www.payoneer.com/multi-currency-account/  

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

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

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q4 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].