Provider research
Airwallex: Fees, Eligibility, and Restrictions
Airwallex is financial infrastructure for registered businesses — multi-currency accounts, cross-border payments, corporate cards, and payment acceptance. The single most important thing to know before you spend time on an application is that it does not serve individuals at all.
Last verified September 1, 2026
What Airwallex is
Airwallex gives a registered business multi-currency accounts, the ability to collect and send money across borders, corporate cards, and card payment acceptance, through one platform and an API.
It is positioned further up the stack than a transfer service. Alongside moving money it handles payment processing, spend management with per-employee cards, and embedded finance for platforms.
It is business-only. Airwallex states directly that it does not offer personal accounts.
Best for
- Registered companies selling internationally
Collect in local currencies through Global Accounts, then convert and pay out without routing everything through a home-currency bank.
- Businesses that need corporate cards with controls
Multi-currency corporate cards with per-user spend permissions, rather than one shared card.
- Companies taking card payments
Payment acceptance sits on the same platform as the accounts, so collection and treasury are not two separate vendors.
- Platforms embedding financial features
API and connected-account infrastructure for building payments into your own product.
Personal use
There is none. Airwallex states: "Our services are designed for businesses, so we’re unable to offer personal accounts to individuals at this time." If you are an individual or an unregistered sole trader without the documentation below, Airwallex is not an option and Wise is the closer fit.
Business use
The whole product is the business case: multi-currency Global Accounts for receiving, cross-border payouts, corporate cards with spend controls, payment acceptance, and API access. Pricing is tiered by plan and charged per business legal entity rather than per account.
Fees and the exchange-rate model
- Plans
Explore is free at $0 per user per month. Grow is $12 per user per month plus a platform fee that depends on team size. Accelerate is custom-priced through sales. Airwallex charges the monthly fee per business legal entity.Source: Airwallex — Pricing (US)
- Currency conversion
0.5% above interbank rates for major currencies, and 1% for all other currencies.Source: Airwallex — Pricing (US)
- Domestic transfers
Free for USD and CAD.Source: Airwallex — Pricing (US)
- International transfers
Free to 120+ countries via batch transfer. SWIFT transfers to 200+ countries cost $15–$25 per transfer (SHA and OUR).Source: Airwallex — Pricing (US)
- Accepting card payments
Domestic cards 2.80% + $0.30 per transaction. International cards 4.30% + $0.30. Local payment methods $0.30 plus the payment method’s own fee.Source: Airwallex — Pricing (US)
- Corporate cards
Unlimited multi-currency corporate cards, with up to 2% cash rebate on local USD spend. Explore includes up to 10 free Spend users; Grow allows up to 250 at the per-user rate.Source: Airwallex — Pricing (US)
Currencies and countries
- Currencies you can receive in
Airwallex states you can receive funds in 20+ currencies through Global Accounts.Source: Airwallex — Business Account
- Countries you can transact in locally
Airwallex states 70+ countries where you can transact like a local.Source: Airwallex — Business Account
- Countries you can transfer to
Airwallex states transfers reach 200+ countries.Source: Airwallex — Business Account
Coverage changes by jurisdiction and is updated by the provider without notice. Confirm availability for your own country and residency before acting on anything above.
Eligibility
- The business must be registered
Airwallex states: "Your company must be an officially registered and active business. This means it must be fully incorporated and in good standing."Source: Airwallex Help Centre — Eligibility to open an account
- No personal accounts
Airwallex states: "Our services are designed for businesses, so we’re unable to offer personal accounts to individuals at this time."Source: Airwallex Help Centre — Eligibility to open an account
- Eligibility follows country of registration
Airwallex requires the company to be registered in an eligible country and maintains a published list of eligible countries and territories.Source: Airwallex Help Centre — Eligibility to open an account
- Documents required (US)
Airwallex names an EIN, or a social security number for a sole proprietor, proof of business formation such as Articles of Incorporation, and a license or other government ID.Source: Airwallex — Business Account
- How long it takes
Airwallex states the application takes about 15 minutes and an account can be open in 1–3 business days.Source: Airwallex — Business Account
Restrictions worth knowing before you apply
- Individuals are excluded outright
This is the rule that disqualifies the most people. No amount of documentation makes an individual eligible — Airwallex simply does not offer personal accounts.Source: Airwallex Help Centre — Eligibility to open an account
- Entity types that cannot be onboarded
Airwallex states a company "cannot be on a sanctions list, be a shell bank, or be a bearer share entity".Source: Airwallex Help Centre — Eligibility to open an account
- Unsupported industries
Businesses in industries listed in Airwallex’s Acceptable Use Policy are not eligible. Airwallex also reserves the right to decline customers outside its stated risk appetite.Source: Airwallex Help Centre — Eligibility to open an account
- Pricing shown here is the US page
Airwallex publishes regional pricing. The figures on this page are from the US page; check the page for your own region before relying on a number.Source: Airwallex — Pricing (US)
Promotional offers
No current Airwallex promotional offer was confirmed against Airwallex’s own terms during this review, so none is listed. BonusBench does not publish promo codes or coupons it cannot verify.
How BonusBench is paid on this page
Approved affiliate · September 2, 2026 · impact.comBonusBench was approved into the Airwallex Affiliate Programme on September 2, 2026, through impact.com. Under that programme, Airwallex pays a commission for customers BonusBench refers. Airwallex has no say in what BonusBench publishes: it did not review, approve, or supply any of this research, and the eligibility rules and restrictions are quoted from Airwallex’s own documentation whether or not they help Airwallex.
The link to the provider below is an affiliate link. If you open an account through it, BonusBench may be paid a commission. It does not change your pricing, your eligibility, or the terms you are offered, and you can reach the provider directly instead at any time.
Being paid does not mean there is a bonus in this for you. Airwallex has no customer referral programme at all — its help centre states: "Airwallex does not currently offer a general customer referral programme." Any page elsewhere selling an "Airwallex referral code" is describing something that does not exist, and an affiliate link gets you exactly what going to Airwallex directly gets you.
- How commission is set: Airwallex states that after you apply, its affiliate team makes contact to learn about your audience and content, and then sets a tailored commission structure. There is no published standard rate.
Go to Airwallex
Airwallex official siteThis is an affiliate link. BonusBench may be paid a commission if you open an account through it, at no extra cost to you and with no effect on the terms Airwallex offers you. To avoid it, type Airwallex’s address into your browser instead.
Alternatives
- Wise
Serves individuals as well as businesses. The right comparison if you are not a registered company, or if straightforward cross-currency transfers are all you need.
- Mercury
A US business bank account rather than cross-border infrastructure. Relevant if you have a US entity and want US banking rather than multi-currency collection.
- Payoneer
Cross-border receiving aimed at marketplace sellers and freelancers. BonusBench has not researched it yet.
Bottom line
Airwallex is a business platform, not a consumer transfer app. If you have a registered company that collects or pays across borders, the coverage and the card controls are the draw, and conversion at 0.5% over interbank on major currencies is the number to compare.
The eligibility gate is strict and worth checking first: an incorporated, in-good-standing company registered in an eligible country, in a permitted industry. Individuals are excluded outright.
If you are an individual, a freelancer without a registered entity, or you mostly just need to send money abroad, this is the wrong product and Wise is the closer fit.
Sources
Every fact on this page was read off one of these pages on September 1, 2026. Where Airwallex does not document something, this page does not claim it.
- Airwallex — Pricing (US)https://www.airwallex.com/us/pricing
- Airwallex — Business Accounthttps://www.airwallex.com/us/business-account
- Airwallex Help Centre — Eligibility to open an accounthttps://help.airwallex.com/hc/en-gb/articles/900001757026-Eligibility-to-open-an-account
- Airwallex Help Centre — Eligible Countries and Territorieshttps://help.airwallex.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4408591334937-Eligible-Countries-and-Territories
- Airwallex Help Centre — Does Airwallex support a customer referral programme?https://help.airwallex.com/hc/en-gb/articles/13917802422799-Does-Airwallex-support-a-customer-referral-programme
- Airwallex — Affiliate Programmehttps://www.airwallex.com/global/partners/affiliate-programme