Airwallex

Global business accounts from a Singapore-born payments company.

Legal entity: Airwallex Pty Ltd and local entities — EMI / payment licences by market

Business bankingactive

Singapore

Go to Airwallex →iOS 4.6 · 4K Android 4.4 · 2K

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Airwallex

8.3Strong

Alternatives

Five questions

At a glance

Is it a bank?
No. Airwallex is not a licensed bank. Confirm who the money sits with before you send salary there.
If it fails?
Safeguarded / stored-value — not a retail bank deposit scheme
Salary?
Business can pay staff. Do not treat Airwallex as your only licensed home-bank salary account.
Open from abroad?
Companies. KYB by market (SG, AU, UK, US, HK, UAE and more).
Monthly fee
Account often free · FX and scale pricing on the corridor
Account number
Multi-rail local details via partners — not a single HQ IBAN

NeoBankDB Verdict

Licence first · score second

8.3

/10 · Strong

Default APAC business account in this register. Mercury wins US start-ups; Airwallex wins multi-entity trade.

What it is

Airwallex is a Singapore-headquartered payments and global-accounts platform. It issues local account details and expense cards so companies can collect and pay like locals. It is not a retail bank; funds are safeguarded under payments licences.

Best for: Exporters, marketplaces, and Aussie/Asian scale-ups paying suppliers in many currencies.

Last checked 2026-08-01. Not advice.

What it does well

+Corridor coverage that Wise Business still fights
+Expense cards on the same ledger
+Australia and Asia density
+Founder-grade API

What to watch

−Not a deposit-taking bank
−Onboarding is a proper KYB process
−Pricing gets real at volume — read the file
−Consumer app is not the product

Legal entity, not the app icon

Who is behind it

Legal name: Airwallex Pty Ltd and local entities — EMI / payment licences by market
Founders: Jack Zhang, Max Li, Lucy Liu, Ki-Lok Wong
Offices: Singapore, Melbourne, London, San Francisco and more
If something goes wrong: Local regulator of the entity you contracted with (FCA, MAS, ASIC, etc.)

Who holds the money

The account

Platforms: Web · iOS · Android
Account types: Business global accounts · expense cards
Minimum balance: $0
Lowest monthly fee: $0 (corridor pricing on FX)
Who can open: Companies; KYB by market
Availability: SG, AU, UK, US, HK, UAE and more
IBAN country: Multi-rail local details via partners — not a single HQ IBAN
Support: In-app / email — B2B
Hours: B2B support hours by region
Remote open: Companies. KYB by market (SG, AU, UK, US, HK, UAE and more).
Onboarding: KYB. FX and local collection are the product, not a salary current account.
KYC documents: Incorporation, ownership, directors' IDs — market pack
Minimum age: Company KYB
Languages: EN and localisations
Salary / payroll: Business can pay staff. Do not treat Airwallex as your only licensed home-bank salary account.
Local rails: Local collection accounts in live corridors · FX · cards
ATM network: Expense cards — not a consumer ATM network
Overdraft: None as a consumer overdraft

How money actually moves

Who holds the cash: EMI safeguarded funds
How money moves: IBAN / SEPA · ACH / USD · Faster Payments
Built for: Business · Freelancer
Settlement: Local rails instant where live; SWIFT slower
Freeze risk: Fintech reviews can pause inbound while they check a transfer
Card: Airwallex lists a physical card and a virtual card on visa, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Confirm the live product in the app — a card is not a current account.

Licence first

Safety

Safeguarded / stored-value — not a retail bank deposit scheme

MAS / multiplePayments / EMI-class licences by market · Singapore / global
ASIC / AUAFSL / payments · Australia

Fees

Monthly: Account often free · FX and scale pricing on the corridor
FX markup: Transparent conversion + payment fees; typically beats banks
ATM: Card ATM fees on the expense card

Features

✓IBAN
✓Fee-free core
✓Multi-currency
✓Apple Pay
✓Google Pay
✓Virtual card
✓Physical card
–Metal card
–Crypto
–Stocks
✓Business
–Kids
–Halal

Multi-currency global accounts
Local payment rails (ACH, BECS, FPS, SEPA)
Expense cards
Yield on balances in some regions
APIs and ERP connectors

Editorial, not a live demo

Screenshots and video

Official YouTube · Airwallex

Media is editorial context, not a live demo of the app. Screenshots go stale — read the licence first.

Before you tap Sign up

How to open

Step 1
Company, not personal
Airwallex is a business FX and collections stack. If you wanted a consumer current account, look at Wise personal or a licensed local bank.
Step 2
Name the entity
Licences are by market. The Singapore, UK, and AU entities are different files.

Official help: help.airwallex.com

Operator documents

Their own papers

These are the operator’s documents. They outrank this review if they disagree.

Score

Safety25%
Fees20%
Features15%
App15%
Global15%
Support10%

Change log

Full log

2025-02-01Licence
Payments / EMI-class licences by market
MAS, ASIC and others. Not a retail bank. Global payouts are the product.
2025-02-01Licence
Payments / EMI-class licences by market
MAS, ASIC and others. Not a retail bank. Global payouts are the product.

Available in

Straight answers

FAQ

Is Airwallex a bank?

No. Airwallex is filed as Payments / EMI-class licences by market. Read who holds the money before you treat it as a salary account.

What happens to money in Airwallex if it fails?

Safeguarded / stored-value — not a retail bank deposit scheme

What does Airwallex charge each month?

The monthly fee on this file is Account often free · FX and scale pricing on the corridor. Fees change — open the operator's pricing page if it is linked.