Pros
- No long-term contracts
- Competitive & transparent pricing
- No annual or monthly fees
- Robust features & integrations
- Streamlines global payments
Cons
- No support for in-person transactions
- No phone-based customer support
- Not suitable for high-risk businesses
What Is Airwallex?
Airwallex isn’t just your average payment gateway. It’s a comprehensive solution that allows you to send and receive global payments, manage company spend, pay vendors around the world, and so much more. Even better, there’s no cost to sign up, no monthly or annual fees, and no hidden fees. While not completely fee-free, pricing is transparent and fair — something you don’t find very often in this industry.
Airwallex is a great financial platform for businesses that want to cut out the middleman in global transactions. The platform is easy to use, offers excellent mobile apps, and has plenty of features and integrations available.
Airwallex isn’t for everyone, though, as it doesn’t offer POS or in-person payment solutions. It’s also not available to certain high-risk businesses, and it doesn’t support cryptocurrency payments. But for growing global businesses, Airwallex may be the perfect payment solution.
Products & Services
Airwallex is loaded with features to simplify global payments and cut out hidden and excessive fees. Here’s an overview of Airwallex’s basic features before we dive into everything the platform has to offer:
Airwallex Features |
Availability |
Dedicated Merchant Account |
|
PCI Compliance |
|
High-Risk Accounts |
|
International Accounts |
|
Contactless Payments |
|
ACH Processing |
|
Digital Wallet Acceptance |
|
EBT Acceptance |
|
Virtual Terminal |
|
Mobile POS Reader & App |
|
Hosted Online Store |
|
Payment Links |
|
Payment Gateway Integrations |
|
Shopping Cart Integrations |
|
POS Integrations |
|
BNPL Integrations |
|
API Documentation |
|
Currency Conversion |
|
Recurring Billing |
|
Invoicing |
|
Cash Discount Program |
|
Cryptocurrency Processing |
|
Airwallex is a global payments and financial platform with plenty of features to streamline digital transactions. What you won’t find, however, are some of the features you may find with traditional processors, such as point of sale systems or card readers for in-person payments.
For eCommerce and globally focused businesses, though, the features Airwallex offers are hard to beat.
Global Business Accounts
- Local currency accounts: Easily receive funds in 20+ currencies
- Global transfers: Transfer funds to over 150 countries in 60+ currencies
- Competitive rates & fees: Airwallex helps you cut currency conversion fees — all with no monthly, annual, maintenance, or setup fees
- Security: End-to-end encryption and bank-level security protect your funds
- Platform API: Set up recurring/subscription payments, create global accounts, run account statements, and easily manage the complexities of global accounts
- Core API: Access FX rates, make high-volume transfers, and more
- No transaction limits
- Batch transfers to up to 1,000 recipients
- Customized approval workflows
- Set user permissions
- Accept local payments: 160+ methods including major credit/debit cards, digital wallet payments, Klarna, Afterpay, and more
- Local acquiring: Payment processing available in over 35 markets to help avoid cross-border fees
- Payment links: Use payment links in invoices, emails, and social media
- Built-in fraud protection: Easily identify suspicious transactions and reduce chargebacks
- Checkout solution to embed in your website
- Payment plug-ins for Shopify, WooCommerce, and more
- Eliminate FX conversion fees with like-for-like settlements
- Payments API for customized payment solutions
Expense Management
- Airwallex mobile apps: For submitting expenses, uploading receipts, reviewing, and approving expenses on the go
- Real-time spend management
- Multi-layer approval workflows
- OCR technology to eliminate manual data entry
- Automatic expense matching
- Accounting software integrations
Corporate Cards
- Spend controls: Set spending limits by day, week, month, quarter, or year
- Rewards: Earn 1.5% cashback
- Multi-currency employee cards
- No international transaction fees
- Virtual cards, physical cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay options for employees
Bill Pay
- Easily upload or email bills
- Pay bills in multiple currencies
- Set notifications when a bill needs to be approved or paid
Integrations
Whether you want to create checkout options on your shopping cart software or track spending in your accounting software, Airwallex offers several integrations with programs including:
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- Amazon
- Hubspot
- Shopify
- eBay
- WooCommerce
- Magento
Fees & Rates
Airwallex earns a solid score for its fees and rates. There are no monthly or annual fees, other fees are transparent and competitive, and there are no hidden costs to worry about.
Pricing Overview
Pricing Starts At |
$0/month |
Account Setup Fee |
$0 |
Contract Length |
Month-to-month |
Processing Model |
Flat-rate (interchange also available) |
Domestic Card Transaction Fees |
2.80% + $0.30 |
Foreign Card Transaction Fees |
4.30% + $0.30 |
Local Payment Methods |
$0.30 + payment method fee |
Equipment Cost |
N/A |
Airwallex does not charge monthly or annual fees (varies by region), setup fees, or maintenance fees. It is free to open global currency accounts and multi-currency wallets.
A flat-rate fee applies to domestic and foreign card transactions. Because Airwallex is a digital payment solution, there are no in-person rates or equipment to purchase.
For local payments, a $0.30 fee is charged by Airwallex. Additional fees apply based on the payment method used.
There are no charges for the following:
- Most transfers (fees may apply for some currencies in certain regions)
- Direct debit payouts & account top ups
- Multi-currency virtual company cards
- Physical & virtual employee cards
- Expense management
- Bill pay
- Integrations (excluding NetSuite)
Monthly Plans
Airwallex doesn’t charge any monthly fees.
If you want a custom solution that includes country-specific rates, interchange pricing, and volume discounts, you can contact Airwallex Sales to learn more.
Extra Costs
As mentioned, Airwallex is extremely transparent with its fees. While most transfers are free, SWIFT and check transfers come with a fee.
FX conversion costs are:
- 0.5% above interbank rates for HKD, CNY, AUD, EUR, GBP, CAD, SGD, CHF, NZD, and JPY.
- 1% above interbank rates for all other currencies
Sales & Advertising Transparency
In the payments industry, there’s generally a lack of transparency surrounding fees. Fortunately, Airwallex bucks that trend and provides plenty of information about its services, fees, and pretty much everything you need to know about the company and its services before signing up.
Not only is this information readily available, it isn’t buried on the Airwallex website. Pricing is clearly disclosed and easy to find, and Airwallex links to everything from the terms and conditions for company and employee cards to its supported local payment methods.
This transparency is refreshing and resulted in a near-perfect score and a boost in Airwallex’s overall rating for this review.
Contract Length & Early Termination Fee
You do not have to sign a long-term contract with Airwallex to use its services.
To make sure we weren’t overlooking something on the website, we asked the Airwallex Support chatbot about contracts. The response was that no long-term service contracts were required for businesses registered in the US to open an Airwallex account.
Because there are no long-term contracts required, you also don’t have to worry about early termination fees if you opt to quit using Airwallex.
Customer Service & Technical Support
Airwallex offers a number of ways to get in touch.
Airwallex Customer Service |
Availability |
Phone Support |
|
Email Support |
|
Support Tickets |
|
Live Chat |
|
Dedicated Support Representative |
|
Knowledge Base or Help Center |
|
Videos & Tutorials |
|
Company Blog |
|
Social Media |
|
Unfortunately, the company does lack phone support in the US. However, there are plenty of other ways to get the help you need, including live chat, email, and support tickets submitted through the AI chatbot.
If you prefer to go the DIY route, you can check out Airwallex’s extensive FAQs, company blog, or social media profiles.
As far as quality goes, reviews are pretty mixed. While most people are satisfied with the support they received, it’s hard to ignore the negative reviews that state that support is slow to respond, doesn’t respond at all, or provides inadequate responses.
User Reviews
Airwallex receives mixed reviews across the web that mostly skew toward positive. Airwallex receives a rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars (based on 1,700 reviews) on Trustpilot and a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2 (based on 40+ reviews).
For its apps, Airwallex receives 4.9 out of 5 stars on the App Store (based on 130+ reviews) and a lower score of 3.5 out of 5 stars on Google Play (based on 230+ reviews).
Negative Reviews & Complaints
Airwallex does have several complaints. Most of these center on account suspensions and holds on funds.
Here are the most commonly cited complaints from current and former Airwallex users:
- Sudden account suspensions
- Long hold on funds after accounts are frozen or suspended
- Long delays in resolving issues through customer support
- Limited integrations
Positive Reviews & Testimonials
There are plenty of things that users like about Airwallex, including:
- Easy-to-use & intuitive interface
- Good customer support
- Simplifies global payments
- Competitive rates & fees
Final Verdict
Overall, we believe Airwallex offers a great product for global businesses. We most like its transparent pricing with no hidden fees, the simplicity of receiving payments from across the world in numerous currencies, and a great set of features combined into one intuitive platform.
However, Airwallex isn’t suitable for all businesses; specifically, it isn’t a good choice for high-risk businesses, businesses that primarily have in-person transactions, or businesses that don’t receive payments from outside of the United States. (Consider one of the best merchant account providers or the best credit card processing companies instead.)
However, if you run an eCommerce business and want to reduce costs or you want a unified platform for receiving payments from around the world, paying bills, issuing employee cards, and tracking expenses and payments, Airwallex may be a great choice for you.
Credit Card Processor Review Methodology
We evaluate and test each payment processor that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on certain key characteristics in order to generate our granular ratings for merchant accounts and credit card processors.
Weighted Rating Breakdown
Fees & Rates 35%
Contract 20%
Products & Services 15%
Sales & Advertising Transparency 15%
Customer Service 10%
User Reviews 5%
For payment processing reviews, we use a 24-point rubric to evaluate the provider. First, we look at pricing structure – interchange plus, subscription-based, tiered, or hybrid – giving the most points to providers that provide fair, transparent pricing and docking those that rely on tiered models. Then we examine rates, the presence and transparency of early termination fees, and any additional fees.
We also look at contract length and fairness and test out sales staff and customer service channels ourselves to ensure that the company uses reputable, above-the-board sales techniques. Finally, we take the company’s online reputation into account, reading customer reviews and comments.
Read more about how we rate payment processors.
To learn more about how we score our reviews, see our