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My Airwallex review in two sentences: Airwallex is a strong second account for Singapore SMEs that collect or pay in foreign currencies, because the Explore plan is free, local transfers to 120+ countries cost nothing and conversion is 0.4% above interbank for major currencies. It is not a replacement for your bank: balances are e-money without SDIC cover, it takes no cash or cheques, and Singapore accounts cannot register a PayNow alias. Fees are from Airwallex's Singapore pricing page and fee schedule, checked 6 October 2026.
Part of The Gantry's automation guides. Updated October 2026.
General information on published fees, not financial advice. Fees change; confirm on Airwallex's page before you sign up.
I set up accounting and ERP for SMEs (I implement Odoo), so I judge a business account by one test: does the money land in the books without anyone typing it? For banks and fintechs side by side, read the best business account in Singapore; this page goes deeper on Airwallex.
Quick verdict: Airwallex in one minute
Best for: importers paying overseas suppliers, online sellers collecting from customers and marketplaces abroad, and teams that need company cards with approvals.
Price from: Explore S$0 a month; Grow S$79; Accelerate from S$399. Prices in SGD, before GST.
Strengths: collect and hold 20+ currencies, free local transfers to 120+ countries, published FX margins, cards with no international fees, Xero and QuickBooks feeds.
Limits: e-money, not an insured deposit; no cash, cheques, PayNow alias or credit; SWIFT transfers S$20 or S$35.
Singapore notes: Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. is listed in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory as a Major Payment Institution.
What is Airwallex, and is it licensed in Singapore?
Airwallex is a Singapore-licensed payment institution offering multi-currency business accounts, FX, cards and payment acceptance; it is not a bank.
Airwallex, a business account and payments provider licensed in several countries, serves Singapore companies through Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. The MAS Financial Institutions Directory lists it as a Major Payment Institution for account issuance, domestic and cross-border transfers, merchant acquisition and e-money issuance (licence PS20200541).
That licence shapes everything else. MAS states that e-money is not a bank deposit and is not protected by deposit insurance, while major payment institutions must safeguard their e-money float (MAS FAQ). Airwallex's Singapore blog confirms it cannot take deposits in the banking sense or offer credit or loans.
Airwallex price: plans and fees in Singapore
The plan fee buys features, not cheaper FX: every plan pays the same transfer and conversion fees. Checked 6 October 2026.
Plans
Explore, S$0 a month: multi-currency accounts, free local transfers, 10 company cards, 5 free spend users, expenses, bill pay, payment acceptance, Xero and QuickBooks sync.
Grow, S$79 a month: adds up to 50 company cards, multi-conditional approvals, bill and expense rules, purchase orders and remittance advice. First month free for eligible customers.
Accelerate, from S$399 a month: unlimited company cards (fair use), multiple entities, NetSuite and Dynamics 365 Business Central sync, a dedicated account manager.
The fee schedule says Explore and Grow are charged per legal entity, while Accelerate covers the whole organisation. All fees exclude GST.
Transaction fees (same on every plan)
FX conversion: 0.4% above interbank for AUD, USD, HKD, CNY, JPY, EUR, GBP, CAD, CHF, NZD and SGD; 0.6% for MYR, IDR, THB, VND, INR and all other currencies.
Local payouts: S$0. CNY payouts: 0.10%.
SWIFT payouts: S$20 (SHA, shared charges) or S$35 (OUR, you pay intermediary charges).
Receiving: free, except 0.6% on KRW, VND, BRL and MYR collections.
Spend users: 5 free, then S$5 per active user a month. "Active" means holding an employee card, or submitting, approving or paying an expense or bill that month.
Payment acceptance
Domestic cards cost 3.30% + S$0.50, international cards 3.60% + S$0.50. Settling a non-SGD sale in its own currency adds 1%, converting it 2%. Chargebacks cost S$15. Read one line twice: the S$0.50 gateway fee applies "per attempted or actual Transaction".
What does Airwallex do well?
It removes two costs banks hide: unpublished FX margins and wire fees on every overseas payment.
Collecting like a local. Global Accounts give you local details abroad, such as USD in the United States or GBP in the UK, so customers and marketplaces, Amazon included, pay you domestically.
Published FX. 0.4% on major currencies is written down; bank account pages rarely publish a margin.
Cards with control. Company and employee cards, per-card limits, freeze, receipt capture by email and spend requests, all on the free plan.
Bill pay and feeds. Sync bills from Xero or QuickBooks, pay suppliers in batches, and feed every transaction back hourly.
API and webhooks. Payouts, FX and cards can run from your own systems.
Airwallex limits: what can it not do that a bank can?
It cannot hold insured SGD, take cash or cheques, receive PayNow to your UEN, or lend to you.
No SDIC cover. SDIC insures SGD bank deposits up to S$100,000 per depositor per member (SDIC); Airwallex balances are safeguarded e-money. (Airwallex's help article still quotes the old S$75,000 limit.)
No PayNow alias. Singapore Global Accounts cannot register one, says Airwallex's help centre; SGD arrives by FAST, GIRO or MEPS.
No cash, cheques or credit. Money arrives by transfer or direct debit; no overdraft, trade finance or loans.
No local MYR details for Singapore companies. Local Malaysian accounts are only for Airwallex Malaysia customers.
Support model. Help centre and email support; a dedicated account manager only on Accelerate.
Industry restrictions. Gambling, adult content, regulated financial services and multi-level marketing are unsupported, plus anything "outside of our risk appetite".
Yield is an investment. The advertised 3.48% on USD (Explore) is "not a savings or deposit product", in Airwallex's words, and principal can be lost.
Worked example: what does a US$20,000 supplier payment cost?
On a US$20,000 payment, published fees range from about S$60 at Wise to S$102 at Airwallex, and S$0 at Airwallex if you already hold the USD.
A typical example, not a quote: an importer pays a US supplier US$20,000 from SGD. At an illustrative mid-market S$1.28, that is S$25,600. Rates are "from" rates published or quoted on 6 October 2026.
Airwallex: 0.4% × S$25,600 = S$102.40. A local USD payout costs S$0, so S$102.40 in total. If the supplier needs SWIFT: S$102.40 + S$20 = S$122.40 (SHA), or S$137.40 (OUR).
Wise Business: Wise's calculator quoted 0.23% for SGD to USD: 0.23% × S$25,600 = S$58.88, plus a fixed fee of about S$1.48 to a US bank account, so roughly S$60.36.
A local bank: DBS charges S$30 for an outward telegraphic transfer plus agent bank fees, and publishes no FX margin. At an illustrative 1% margin: S$256 + S$30 = S$286 before agent fees.
Airwallex, holding USD: if US customers paid you into your Airwallex USD account, you pay the supplier from that balance. FX cost S$0, local payout S$0.
Twelve of these payments a year: about S$1,229 on Airwallex (12 × S$102.40), S$724 on Wise (12 × S$60.36), S$3,432 at the illustrative bank rate (12 × S$286). The fourth line is the real argument for Airwallex: collect and pay in the same currency and conversion disappears.
Airwallex vs Stripe: do you need one or both?
Stripe is a payment processor; Airwallex is mainly a business account that also processes payments. They overlap only at checkout.
Where they overlap: both accept cards and local methods online. Stripe Singapore charges 3.4% + S$0.50 for domestic cards, 0.5% more for international cards and 2% if currency conversion is needed; PayNow is 1.3% (Stripe pricing). Airwallex charges 3.30% + S$0.50 and 3.60% + S$0.50. On a S$100 domestic card sale: S$3.90 on Stripe, S$3.80 on Airwallex.
Where they do not: Stripe pays your balance out to a bank account. Airwallex gives you the account itself: hold currencies, pay suppliers, issue cards.
Common setup: Stripe for checkout, where its plugins and subscription tooling are broad, and Airwallex as the account for holding currencies, paying suppliers and running cards.
Gateway payouts net fees and refunds into batches, which makes reconciliation harder; see Stripe ASEAN payment methods and reconciliation.
Airwallex vs Wise: which is cheaper?
Wise is cheaper on conversion; Airwallex is stronger on cards, approvals and bill pay.
Conversion: Wise from 0.19% (0.23% quoted for SGD to USD) against Airwallex's 0.4%. On S$25,600 that gap is 0.17%, or S$43.52 per payment.
Set-up: Wise charges a one-time S$99; Airwallex Explore is S$0.
Choose Wise if you mostly convert SGD to pay a few suppliers. Choose Airwallex if you collect abroad, run team cards or want bill approvals.
Airwallex alternatives in Singapore
The main alternatives are Wise Business for conversion cost, Aspire for startup spend control, Revolut Business for app-first teams and a local bank for everything insured.
Wise Business
Best for: low, published conversion fees.
Price from: one-time S$99 set-up, no monthly fee (Wise pricing).
Strengths: conversion from 0.19%; details to receive in 22 currencies; free ATM withdrawals up to S$100 a month.
Limits: US$6.11 per USD wire received; fewer spend-management tools.
Singapore notes: Wise Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. is listed by MAS as a Major Payment Institution.
Aspire
Best for: startups wanting cards and budgets at low cost.
Price from: Basic S$0; Premium S$15 a month (Aspire pricing).
Strengths: FX from 0.22% on Basic and 0% on the first S$13,000 a month on Premium; up to 200 virtual cards on Basic; extra spend users S$4 a month.
Limits: per-transfer international fees are not shown on the pricing page.
Singapore notes: Aspire states it holds a temporary licensing exemption under the Payment Services Act.
Revolut Business
Best for: teams already using the Revolut app.
Price from: Basic S$0, Grow S$15, Scale S$84 a month (Revolut plans).
Strengths: a monthly allowance at the interbank rate: S$1,500, S$13,000 or S$60,000 by plan.
Limits: fees apply above the allowance; check the plan page for the current rate.
Singapore notes: Revolut Technologies Singapore Pte. Ltd. states it is a MAS-regulated Major Payment Institution; no SDIC cover.
A local bank
Best for: SGD operating cash, PayNow, GIRO payroll, cheques and credit.
Price from: varies by bank; see the bank comparison.
Strengths: SDIC cover on SGD deposits; loans and trade finance.
Limits: FX margins usually unpublished; telegraphic transfer fees per payment.
Who should not choose Airwallex?
Skip it if your money is all SGD, you handle cash or cheques, or you need credit.
Local-only businesses: it costs nothing but adds little over a bank.
Businesses whose customers pay by PayNow to the UEN.
Owners who want all operating cash insured.
Industries on Airwallex's unsupported list.
Companies converting SGD a few times a month, where Wise costs less.
How to get Airwallex into Xero, QuickBooks or Odoo
Connect the feed on day one, one ledger bank account per currency, or month-end becomes typing.
Xero: Airwallex syncs hourly into one Xero bank account per currency. A conversion arrives as two lines, money out in one currency and in the other: reconcile it as a transfer. Card lines carry the cardholder name and last four digits, so bank rules can code them. More than one currency needs Xero Premium in Singapore, S$95 a month, rising from 1 November 2026 (Xero).
QuickBooks: feeds, expenses and bills sync on every plan.
Odoo: Airwallex lists an Odoo bank feed through Yodlee, available in Singapore. If your Odoo database cannot connect, Odoo 19 imports CSV, XLSX, OFX, QIF and CAMT.053 statements. Choosing between them? See Odoo vs Xero in Singapore.
Expense receipts need no extra tool: Airwallex matches receipts forwarded by email on the free plan. Automation earns its keep on customer payments. A free Make scenario can catch an Airwallex webhook when a deposit lands, find the open Xero invoice by reference, and tell sales "Customer X paid US$4,800". I found no native Airwallex app in Make, so this uses Make's custom webhook. More ideas: Make templates for small business.
Airwallex review: my verdict
Keep your bank for SGD, PayNow and payroll. Add Airwallex Explore if you collect or pay in foreign currencies or need team cards, and hold receipts in their own currency to convert less. Pay for Grow only for approvals or purchase orders. If you only convert SGD to pay suppliers, Wise costs less.
Adding Airwallex and not sure how it should feed your books? Bring your accounts and accounting software to a free 20-minute systems review and I will map the feeds.
Stuck on a step? Tell me where you're stuck and you'll get the fix, or a free 20-minute review if it's worth one.
Frequently asked questions
Is Airwallex Singapore safe and legit? It is a MAS-licensed Major Payment Institution that must safeguard customer money. Balances are e-money, so SDIC does not cover them.
What should I check in Airwallex Singapore reviews? Whether the reviewer's needs match yours. Airwallex's own documents confirm the main limits: no PayNow alias, no cash or cheques, no credit.
What is the Airwallex price for a small business? Explore is S$0 a month; Grow is S$79; Accelerate starts at S$399, before GST. FX, SWIFT and extra spend users (S$5 each) cost extra on every plan.
Is Airwallex cheaper than Wise? Usually not on conversion: 0.4% against Wise's 0.23% quoted for SGD to USD. Airwallex is cheaper when you hold and pay in the same currency.
Is Airwallex a bank? No. It is a licensed payment institution and cannot lend.
What are the best Airwallex alternatives? Wise Business for low conversion fees, Aspire for startup cards, Revolut Business for app-first teams, and a local bank for insured SGD and credit.
Related guides
Best business account in Singapore · Stripe ASEAN payment methods and reconciliation · Odoo vs Xero in Singapore · Make templates for small business · Order to cash process
Sources
All checked 6 October 2026.
Airwallex Singapore pricing: plans, features, FX, transfers, cards, spend users, payment fees, integrations, support, Yield rates, licence number.
Airwallex Singapore fee schedule: currency lists for 0.4% and 0.6%, SWIFT fees in SGD, receiving fees, quote fees, gateway, settlement and chargeback fees, active spend user definition, per-entity billing.
MAS Financial Institutions Directory: Airwallex (Singapore) and Wise Asia-Pacific: Major Payment Institution status and services.
MAS payment services licensing FAQ: e-money not deposit-insured; safeguarding.
SDIC and SDIC scope of coverage: S$100,000 limit, companies covered.
Airwallex: how Airwallex works in Singapore: not a bank, no credit or loans.
Airwallex help centre: Global Account currencies and PayNow alias, cash and cheques, unsupported industries, safeguarding, Xero sync, Odoo via Yodlee.
Airwallex webhooks: set-up under Developer.
Wise Business pricing and Wise's price calculator: S$99 set-up, from 0.19%, 0.23% SGD to USD, receiving and ATM fees.
Stripe Singapore pricing: card, international, conversion and PayNow fees.
DBS Business Multi-Currency Account: S$30 telegraphic transfer fee.
Aspire pricing, Revolut Business plans and Revolut Singapore website terms: plans, FX, allowances, licensing disclosures. Revolut blocks automated page loads, so its plan prices were confirmed from the official page's search listing.
Xero Singapore pricing and Odoo 19 bank transactions: multi-currency plan, statement formats.
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I'm Sayed. I work closely with business owners to automate their operations and build workflows that actually make sense. I write The Gantry about ERP and automation for SMEs.