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Wise Business vs Airwallex

Wise Business slightly pips Airwallex based on price and ease of use, but it's a close call.

Both companies offer great local currency accounts and some nice features.

We've compiled everything you need to make an informed decision on which company is right for you.

Keith Hodges
Author 
Keith Hodges
14 minutes
October 10th, 2024
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Quick information

An overview of Wise Business vs Airwallex

Wise Business wins in our comparison against Airwallex. Wise pricing is a little better. But overall, both are a great option for businesses.

The cost of using Wise Business for international transfers will be from 0.33%. This is the mid-market exchange rate, plus a fee. Card spending, where an exchange is needed, is the same.

For Airwallex the cost will be from 0.5%. This is an exchange rate, that starts at 0.5% and no fee. However, card transactions, which need an exchange, start from 1%.

Wise Business is best for…

Airwallex is best for…

  • Companies that want to spend abroad and manage international balances. Wise Business has one of the lowest starting points on the market: 0.33%, vs the 0.5% offered by Airwallex

  • Companies looking for a platform that is built around simplicity

  • Companies where integration with accounting software is easy. With Wise Business a lot of softwares are included as standard

  • Companies that want to tailor expense management workflows. This can be based on departments, teams or individuals

  • Companies looking multi-currency access to Hong Kong, Indonesia or Japan. These are available on Airwallex and not Wise Business

  • Companies looking to whitelabel multi-currency account products

Features

Wise

Airwallex

Monthly Fee

$0

$0

Exchange rate

Matches the mid-market rate

From 0.5%

Transfer fees

From 0.33%

$0 (from $10 for SWIFT)

Multi-currency account

10 local accounts (US registered companies), 19 (Europe registered companies)

12 local accounts

Batch payments

✅ Up to 1,000 per transaction with guaranteed rates

✅ Up to 1,000

Expense management and tracking

✅ (although, cards not currently being issued in the US)

Pay invoices

Receive Payments

Marketplace integration

✅ Amazon, Upwork, Etsy + more

API options

✅ Automated payments, regular payments

Manage Payroll

ATM Access

Forward Contracts

Customer feedback

To give a clear view of how customers perceive each brand we have analysed reviews for each. This covers just over a year's worth of data and is specifically for online reviews.

Our scoring

For each of our comparisons we will look at some key measures of a business.

For Wise Business and Airwallex, this includes product offering, cost, speed and regulation.

This will give you the information needed to make an informed decision on the best provider for you.

Wise
Fees & Rates
9.4
Transfer Speed
9.0
Safety & Trust
9.5
Product Offering
8.8
Transfer Limits
9.5
Ease of Use
10.0
Customer Feedback
8.5
9.2
Overall
Airwallex
Fees & Rates
9.0
Transfer Speed
8.6
Safety & Trust
8.8
Product Offering
9.0
Transfer Limits
9.0
Ease of Use
8.8
Customer Feedback
8.6
8.8
Overall
Wise Business vs Airwallex: The detail

Product offering

The Airwallex product offering slightly outperforms Wise Business. They have access to a couple of additional local currency account options. Expense management also beats what you will get from Wise Business.
  • Airwallex offers 12 local accounts and Wise Business offers 10

  • Airwallex offers custom workflows for different teams or individuals

  • Airwallex has a greater amount of additional currencies that businesses can access

Wise Business and Airwallex both provide multi-currency services. They offer similar products, but have a different history from each other.

Airwallex would is a ‘business first’ product. It is built for businesses exclusively. Wise Business started life as a money transfer company for personal use. They launched a business product alongside this.

The product offering from both, on the whole, is very good.

But they do both suffer from the same floor of trying to offer everything and, for the most part, being self managed.

Account management and phone support isn’t readily available for either.

When choosing between the two, be aware you will be using help portals as the first port of call for account issues.

Multi-currency accounts

Wise Business offers 10 accounts, although Romania and Turkey are restricted. Airwallex offers 12 local accounts.

Airwallex offers more access to local accounts than any other multi-currency business account.

Airwallex and Wise Business are both highly rated for multi-currency account offering.

Between the two, most of the bases needed to transact at an international level are covered.

Both offer further currency support for conversion at the point of receipt. This will go into one of the local accounts.

Currency

Wise Business

Airwallex

British Pound

Account number / Sort Code

Account number, IBAN, Sort code

Euro

SWIFT / BIC and IBAN

IBAN, SWIFT Code

US Dollar

ACH and wire routing number / Account number

Account number, ACH routing number, Fedwire routing number, SWIFT code

Australian Dollar

BSB code

Account number, BSB code

New Zealand Dollar

Account number

Account number, Bank code, Branch code

Singapore Dollar

Account number

Account number, Bank Code, Swift Code

Romanian Lieu

SWIFT / BIC and IBAN

Not available

Canadian Dollar

Institution number / Transit number / Account number

Account number, Transit number, Bank number

Hungarian Forint

Account number

Not available

Turkish Lira

Bank name / IBAN

Not available

Japanese Yen

Not available

Account number, Bank code

Hong Kong Dollar

Not available

Account number, Bank code, SWIFT code

Indonesia

Not available

Account number

Polish Zloty

Not available

Account number, SWIFT code, IBAN

Denmark*

Not available

Account number, SWIFT code, IBAN

*Denmark also offers the same access (in Denmark) to the following currencies: CZK, CHF, GBP, HUF, MXN, NOK, PLN, RON, SEK, ZAR.

Supported currencies.

Airwallex supports payments in around 130 currencies. This is compared to 40 offered by Wise Business.

This scope gives Airwallex a much greater handle on global transactions.

Be aware though, for both, the exchange rates and fees are from 0.33% and 0.5%.

So when you transact in harder to reach currencies you are likely to pay a lot more than these.

As an example, some African countries can have total costs of over 5%.

This isn’t an exclusive cost to Wise Business or Airwallex. You will also see this with companies such as Xe and Payoneer as well.

We have only included currencies where at least one of Airwallex or Wise Business offers it.

Africa
Europe
North America
South America
Asia
Oceania

Cards

Cards aren’t currently on offer to US businesses from Wise Business, however we expect this to change.

The big difference between the card access is in ATM access. Airwallex does not offer ATM access.

Also as of November 2023, card conversion with Airwallex is 1%, compared to the 0.33% you would pay with Wise Business.

There’s also a charge of $5 per active employee with a card with Airwallex. This is a cost that can start to stack up if the account is used by multiple teams.

Cards

Wise Business

Airwallex

Offered

Yes

Yes

Monthly fee

$0

$5 per active cardholder per month

Annual fee

$0

$0

Initial card fee

$7 (physical, virtual cards are $0)

$0

Additional card fee

$7 (physical, virtual cards are $0)

$0

Replacement card fee

$4 (physical, virtual cards are $0)

$0

Spending (no conversion)

No cost

No cost

Spending (with conversion)

From 0.33%

From 1%

Spending limits (daily)

$50 million

$5 million

ATM fees

2% + $1.50 - over $100 per day

No access

Expense management

Yes, sync different cards to specific people

Yes, sync different cards to specific people

Restrictions

Cards not issued in the US at the moment

Interest rates

Companies with a significant balance in EUR, USD or GBP can earn interest with Wise Business. This is not available with with Airwallex.

Other companies offering interest are Revolut Business and Sokin.

Currency

Wise Business

Airwallex

USD

4.85%

0%

EUR

2.12%

0%

GBP

3.22%

0%

Batch payments

Most business transfer providers have a batch payment offering of up to 1,000 providers. Airwallex and Wise Business are no different.

If you need more than 1,000 recipients per batch, Sokin offers up to 5,000 recipients.

Wise Business

Airwallex

Batch payment limit

1,000

1,000

Integrations

Type

Wise Business

Airwallex

Accounting

Xero, Intuit, FreeAgent, QuickFile, Xoho, Odoo, Ember, FreshBooks, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, Emma, Moneyhub, Plum, Chedder

Xero, QuickBooks, Asperato, ApprovalMax, Odoo, Sage

Website management

N/A

NetSuite, WooCommerce

Marketplace

Amazon, Ebay

Amazon, Lazada, Magento, Shopee, Shopify, Shoplazza, Fnac

APIs

Both providers offer access to API use. These work in slightly different ways.

As a product offering, the Airwallex API will allow companies to do more. This includes offering white labelled services.

For Wise Business, the API automates and integrates Wise Business into existing processes.

Recently Wise has launched a Wise Platform as well. This is the starting point for allowing businesses to use Wise technology. In fact, it is already in a number of places, such as Monzo and Go Cardless.

With the nature of an API, and what users what to do with it, we wouldn’t really say either Airwallex or Wise Business is ‘best’. They both offer quite substantial coverage within the international payments space.

Aspect

Wise API

Airwallex Core API

API Overview

Offers APIs focused on international money transfers, currency exchange, and account management for seamless integration into financial workflows.

Provides a comprehensive suite of financial APIs enabling businesses to integrate payments, FX, card issuance, and account management into their applications and systems.

Payment Capabilities

Transfers API: Create and manage international money transfers.

Supports batch transfers.

Transfer status tracking.

Payments API: Initiate and manage domestic and international payments.

Supports batch payments and scheduled payments.

Multi-currency payments support.

Foreign Exchange (FX)

Quotes API: Get real-time exchange rate quotes.

Currency conversions at mid-market rates.

Supports over 50 currencies.

FX API: Access real-time FX rates.

Execute currency conversions.

Lock in FX rates for future transactions.

Supports over 130 currencies.

Account Management

Accounts API: Manage multi-currency balances.

Retrieve account statements and transaction histories.

Account funding details.

Accounts API: Open and manage multi-currency accounts.

Retrieve account balances and transaction histories.

Generate account statements.

Card Issuing

Not available via API.

Cards API: Issue and manage virtual and physical payment cards.

Set spending controls and limits.

Monitor card transactions in real-time.

Payment Acceptance

Not a core API offering.

Payment Acceptance API: Accept payments from customers globally.

Supports various payment methods (cards, wallets, etc.).

Transaction reconciliation.

Webhooks & Notifications

Webhooks: Get updates on transfer status changes and account events.

Subscription management for specific events.

Webhooks: Receive real-time notifications for events like payments, FX conversions, account changes, and card transactions.

Configurable event subscriptions.

Authentication & Security

Authentication: OAuth 2.0 protocol.

Security: HTTPS encryption, two-factor authentication support.

Regulated by FCA and other authorities.

Authentication: API keys and token-based authentication.

Security: HTTPS encryption, OAuth 2.0 support, IP whitelisting.

PCI DSS compliance.

Developer Resources

Documentation: Comprehensive API guides and references.

SDKs: Client libraries available.

Sandbox: Testing environment for integrations.

Documentation: Detailed API docs with code examples.

SDKs: Available in multiple programming languages.

Sandbox: Test environment with mock data.

API Limitations

Regional Limitations: Certain currencies and routes may not be supported.

Rate Limits: Defined per API method.

Error Responses: Standardized error messages.

Regional Availability: Some services may be restricted based on jurisdiction.

Rate Limits: Applicable per API endpoint.

Error Handling: Detailed error codes and messages.

Supported Platforms

Integration: RESTful API with JSON responses.

Formats: JSON requests and responses.

Compatibility: Suited for various applications needing transfer services.

Integration: RESTful API endpoints.

Formats: JSON payloads.

Compatibility: Works with major ERP and financial systems.

Use Cases

Automate international payroll.

Integrate currency conversion into billing systems.

Manage global account balances and statements.

Automate supplier payments globally.

Integrate real-time FX conversion into apps.

Issue employee expense cards.

Accept online payments from customers.

API Versioning & Updates

Versioning: API versions managed through endpoint URLs.

Updates: Change logs and updates provided in documentation.

Versioning: Uses versioned endpoints for backward compatibility.

Updates: Regular enhancements communicated via developer portal.

Fees and rates

Wise Business and Airwallex both offer great fees and rates. They are two of the the best options on the market. Wise Business wins because a cost of a transfer starts from 0.33%, compared to 0.5% with Airwallex.
  • Wise Business offers exchanges at the mid-market rate, with fees from 0.33%

  • Airwallex has no fees and exchange rate that starts from 0.5%

  • Conversions into multi-currency accounts start at the same rate

Send and Receiving payments

Sending money through each is similar. You can do this through using the multi-currency platform each offers.

Payments are simple to set up and the overall costs are competitive with each other. Airwallex is paid on the exchange rate and Wise Business is paid on the fee.

Money transfer

Wise Business

Airwallex

Exchange rate

0%

From 0.5%

Fees

From 0.33%

No fees

For receiving money, you can do so into local accounts. Just having more accounts available on Airwallex makes this a little easier.

For non-supported currencies you’ll pay extra on top, compared to Wise Business, to convert.

Be aware that if you receive money from unsupported currencies you could pay more than the 0.33% or 0.5% starting fees.

Receiving payments

Wise Business

Airwallex

Into multi-currency account

$0

$0

Into a supported currency

0% + 0.33% if you need to convert

0%

Into a non-supported currency

0.33% into the base account

From 0.5%

Wise Business does not offer a payment gateway, so is not the correct option for you if you need this functionality.

Using the Airwallex to receive card payments is expensive: 2.80% + $0.30

Guaranteed rates and forward contracts

If currency risk is the main reason for choosing a provider, Wise Business or Airwallex are not the right option.

Providers like Moneycorp or OFX Business are best for this.

Currency risk offering

Wise Business

Airwallex

Forward contracts

Not offered

Not offered

Limit orders

Not offered

Not offered

Guaranteed rates

2 days (on some transfers)

Not offered

Currency risk strategy

Not offered

Not offered

This is because of the nature of both Wise Business and Airwallex being digital services. On the other side, currency brokers will offer currency risk management but you will not get multi-currency accounts. It’s possible that working with two providers for different aspects of your business is a logical solution.

Speeds

Wise Business has faster transfer speeds, but Airwallex will also offer competitive timeframes. It's close, but Wise Business is slightly faster than Airwallex.
  • Sending money through both Airwallex or Wise is relatively fast

  • Wise Business also offers P2P payments which are instant

Payment types

Wise Business

Airwallex

Money transfers

0-2 business days

0-2 business days

P2P payments

Instant

Not available

Incoming payments

Instantly released (marketplaces and platforms may have their own timeframes)

Instantly released (marketplaces and platforms may have their own timeframes)

Ease of use

Both are simple platforms. Wise Business wins the ease of use offering as the app is a little more intuitive. Airwallex lacks features compared to the web version.
Wise
10
vs
Airwallex
8.8
  • The Wise Business offering is universal across different devices. Airwallex lacks some features in the app

  • Wise Business user interface is a little easier to use from the off. Airwallex takes a little time get used to

  • Airwallex users like the efficiency offered in making payments

  • Customer service for both is in the form of help portals and email

App support

To get an idea of how users interact on different devices, we have compiled and analysed data from different app stores.

Apple App Store

Aspect

Wise Business

Airwallex

Average Rating

4.7 stars

4.6 stars

General Sentiment

Highly Positive

Generally Positive

Common Positive Feedback

- User-friendly interface

- Transparent fees

- Fast transfers

- Good for business payments

- Supports multiple currencies

- Competitive exchange rates

Common Negative Feedback

- Occasional bugs after updates

- Verification delays

- Limited features compared to web version

- Some technical issues

Google Play Store

Aspect

Wise Business

Airwallex

Average Rating

4.5 stars

4.4 stars

General Sentiment

Generally Positive

Generally Positive

Common Positive Feedback

- Easy to navigate

- Competitive exchange rates

- Quick transfers

- Efficient for business payments

- Good customer service

Common Negative Feedback

- Technical issues

- Verification delays

- Occasional app crashes

- Limited functionality

Customer service

Being digital first services, both account providers receive negative feedback for customer service.

The first port of call when solving a problem on each account is to go through the process of chats and help centers. You can contact both accounts for support. For the most part, when tested, we received responses within 24 hours from each.

Feature

Wise Business

Airwallex

Dedicated account manager

No

No

Help center

Yes (24/7)

Yes (24/7)

Live chat

Yes

No

Email

Yes

Yes

Phone support

No

Yes

Regulation

Wise Business is regulated in more locations than Airwallex, so wins for safety and trust.
Wise
9.5
vs
Airwallex
8.8
  • Both companies hold regulation in key markets across the world

  • Wise is regulated in Brazil. This can be difficult to find with other multi-currency providers

Airwallex and Wise Business are bother regulated in key markets like the USA, the UK and Europe.

There are differences in regulation, and Wise Business offers a little more scope.

Country/Region

Regulators

Wise Business

Airwallex

Australia

ASIC, APRA, AUSTRAC

Yes

Yes

Brazil

Central Bank of Brazil

Yes

No

Canada

FINTRAC, Revenu Québec

Yes

Yes

China

People's Bank of China

No

Yes

European Economic Area (EEA)

National Bank of Belgium, Estonian Financial Supervision Authority

Yes

Yes

Hong Kong

Customs and Excise Department (CCE), Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Yes

Yes

India

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Yes

No

Indonesia

Bank Indonesia, Financial Services Authority (OJK)

Yes

No

Japan

Kanto Local Financial Bureau

Yes

No

Lithuania

Bank of Lithuania

No

Yes

Malaysia

Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara)

Yes

Yes

Netherlands

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)

No

Yes

New Zealand

Financial Markets Authority

Yes

Yes

Singapore

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

Yes

Yes

Not keen on either?

If Wise Business or Airwallex are not the right fit for your business, then we recommend one of the alternative providers below.

Revolut Business
Like their personal offering, the Revolut Business offering is tiered - giving more access to features, the more you pay.
Moneycorp Business
Historically, Moneycorp is considered one of the biggest money transfer providers in the world. The company has over 45 years of history and launch in the USA in 2018. The company is headquartered in the UK but with offices in USA, Ireland, France, Romania, UAE, Hong Kong, Australia and Brazil.
OFX Business
Our key measures when testing OFX Business for international business transfers were the strength of the product offering, cost of service and transfers, speed, safety and customer satisfaction.
Xe Business
Xe Business offers strong all-round support for international business transfers. As part of our scoring process we have looked at product offering, cost, speed of transfers, safety and customer satisfaction.
Multipass
Multipass offers a strong selection of multi-currency option. A setup fee and higher monthly fees than elsewhere are a little offputting when you consider exchange rates are higher than Airwallex, Wise Buiness and Revolut Business.

More comparisons

Wise Business vs Sokin
Wise Business wins in our comparison against Sokin because the product is a bit more rounded. Sokin is a relatively newer player to the business multi-currency account market, so is still developing its product.
Payoneer vs Airwallex
Airwallex is our winner when comparing it with Payoneer. The company offers a well rounded platform which includes 12 local currency accounts. You can also customise expense management workflow.
Wise vs Payoneer
Wise Business wins in our comparison against Payoneer. It is cheaper and simpler to use.

Contributors

Keith Hodges
Keith is an experienced Content Specialist with a rich background in both marketing and journalism within the financial sector. At MoneyTransfers.com, Keith plays a pivotal role in driving the business forward and broadening its reach in various international money transfer markets. His expertise is a key factor in the company's expansion and success.