Comparison · Updated October 4, 2026
Airwallex vs Wise Business for US businesses
Airwallex
B
A global business account and payment platform with published rates, no lock-in contract and unusually cheap FX. Strong for cross-border sellers; weaker as a plain domestic card processor, and not an option for high-risk merchants.
Wise Business
B-
Wise Business is the business version of the Wise multi-currency account, run by Wise, the London company that launched as TransferWise in 2011. A US business pays a one-time $31 fee to open local account details in 22 currencies, and there is no monthly fee. As of October 2026, US pricing makes domestic (non-wire) receipts in USD and eight other currencies free and charges $6.11 for each incoming USD wire or Swift payment. Conversion fees start at 0.23% and depend on the currency, always at the mid-market rate, and same-currency payments between Wise accounts are free. Clients can pay you through payment links, invoices and QR codes. Wise also has a card acceptance feature, priced for US businesses at 2.9% + $0.30 for domestic consumer cards and 4.2% + $0.30 for international and business cards, but Wise says it is currently unavailable to new Wise Business customers. Wise is not a bank: in the US the account is provided by Wise US Inc., a licensed money transmitter, and balances are not FDIC-insured unless you opt in to its interest feature. Its US regulatory record is the main weakness. Wise US settled with the CFPB in 2025 and paid $4.2 million to six state regulators over anti-money-laundering failings, the OCC refused its trust bank charter in July 2026, and a securities class action against Wise Group is pending.
VS
Overview
Airwallex and Wise Business both give a US company a multi-currency account with local bank details abroad, so overseas clients can pay by an ordinary domestic transfer and you can hold the money and convert when you choose. This comparison uses each provider's US pricing as of October 2026. Wise is the cheaper place to convert and wire money. On 4 October 2026 its calculator quoted $3.44 to convert $1,000 to euros and send it to a European bank. Airwallex has no public calculator, but its published 0.5% markup alone works out to about $5. Wise also charges $6.11 to receive a domestic USD wire against Airwallex's $15, and its phone lines are open 24/7. Airwallex is the broader business platform. It costs nothing to open, makes domestic ACH payouts free, settles card payments one business day after capture, and adds spend management, bill pay and NetSuite sync on paid plans. The biggest difference is card acceptance. Airwallex charges 2.80% + 30 cents on domestic cards, while Wise says its card acceptance is unavailable to new Wise Business customers. Neither company is a bank. Airwallex says its US partner-bank arrangements, including Evolve Bank & Trust for some customers, are designed to provide FDIC pass-through coverage if a partner bank fails. Wise says balances are not FDIC-insured unless you opt in to its interest feature. Payment Review grades Airwallex B and Wise Business B-.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Only Airwallex can take card payments for a new customer: 2.80% + 30 cents on domestic cards and 4.30% + 30 cents on international cards. Wise says card acceptance is currently unavailable to new Wise Business customers in the US and the UK.
- ✓Wise converts more cheaply. Its fee depends on the currency route and is charged on the mid-market rate: 0.29% from USD to EUR and 0.47% from EUR to USD on 4 October 2026. Airwallex charges 0.5% above interbank on major currencies and 1% on the rest.
- ✓Airwallex is free to open and sends domestic ACH payments for free. Wise charges a one-time $31 to open account details and $1.13 for a domestic USD transfer. Wise charges less for wires: $6.11 to receive a domestic USD wire against Airwallex's $15 Fedwire fee, and $7.28 to send a USD Swift payment against Airwallex's $15.
- ✓From 12 October 2026, Airwallex's free Explore plan starts charging for international transfers over local networks: $1 per transfer in EUR and GBP, $2 to $7 in many other currencies, and 0.10% in CNY. Grow and Accelerate customers are exempt.
- ✓Wise answers the phone 24/7. Airwallex's US phone line is open 07:00 to 17:00 PT on weekdays. Airwallex has an F from the BBB for 13 unanswered complaints. Wise has an A+, but its US arm carries a 2025 CFPB order and a $4.2 million multistate anti-money-laundering penalty.
Airwallex
Airwallex suits a US company that needs to take card payments online, pays a lot of domestic ACH transfers, or wants corporate cards, bill pay and expense management in the same account as its multi-currency balances.
Wise Business
Wise Business suits a US business that mainly gets paid by overseas clients and pays suppliers abroad by bank transfer, wants the lowest conversion and wire fees, and does not need to take cards.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
It depends on how your money moves, though Airwallex is the more complete product for most US companies, which is why it grades B to Wise Business's B-. Choose Airwallex if you need to take card payments, since Wise has closed card acceptance to new customers. It also suits you if you pay a lot of domestic ACH transfers, or want cards, expenses and bill pay in the same account, all on a free plan. Choose Wise if your business mainly receives money from overseas clients and pays suppliers abroad by bank transfer. Its conversion fees are lower (0.29% from USD to EUR against Airwallex's 0.5%), it charges less to receive domestic wires and to send Swift wires, and its phone support never closes. Before you rely on either as your only account, note the reputation records. Airwallex has an F from the BBB for unanswered complaints. Wise has a 2025 CFPB order and a $4.2 million multistate AML penalty. Both draw complaints about funds held during compliance reviews, so keep a second business bank account.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Account and plan fees (US, as of October 2026)
| Feature | Airwallex | Wise Business |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open | $0 Winner | $31 one-time for account details |
| Airwallex's US fee schedule (last updated 18 September 2026) lists a $0 Global Account creation fee and a $0 Explore plan. Registering with Wise is free, but opening account details in 22 currencies costs a one-time $31, which also covers the first card. | ||
| Monthly fee | $0 on Explore; Grow $12 per spend user + platform fee | None |
| No winner: both cost $0 a month for the core account. Airwallex charges for its Grow plan, which adds NetSuite and Dynamics 365 Business Central sync, approval workflows and more spend users. Grow is $12 per active spend user a month plus a platform fee based on team size, and Accelerate is custom-priced. Explore includes up to 10 free spend users. Airwallex customers who signed up before 1 June 2025 kept their transaction pricing. Wise charges no subscription. | ||
| Contract | None; month-to-month | None; close any time |
| No contract or early-termination fee at either. Both can restrict an account and hold funds during a review. Airwallex sets final card settlement terms at its onboarding review. | ||
Cost to open
Airwallex
$0
Winner
Wise Business
$31 one-time for account details
Airwallex's US fee schedule (last updated 18 September 2026) lists a $0 Global Account creation fee and a $0 Explore plan. Registering with Wise is free, but opening account details in 22 currencies costs a one-time $31, which also covers the first card.
Monthly fee
Airwallex
$0 on Explore; Grow $12 per spend user + platform fee
Wise Business
None
No winner: both cost $0 a month for the core account. Airwallex charges for its Grow plan, which adds NetSuite and Dynamics 365 Business Central sync, approval workflows and more spend users. Grow is $12 per active spend user a month plus a platform fee based on team size, and Accelerate is custom-priced. Explore includes up to 10 free spend users. Airwallex customers who signed up before 1 June 2025 kept their transaction pricing. Wise charges no subscription.
Contract
Airwallex
None; month-to-month
Wise Business
None; close any time
No contract or early-termination fee at either. Both can restrict an account and hold funds during a review. Airwallex sets final card settlement terms at its onboarding review.
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
US online store or SaaS company taking card payments from customers abroad
Recommended
Airwallex
Airwallex charges 2.80% + 30 cents on domestic cards and 4.30% + 30 cents on international cards, settles one business day after capture, and can settle Visa and Mastercard payments in 14 currencies, including EUR and GBP, without converting them. Wise's card acceptance is unavailable to new Wise Business customers, so it cannot do this job.
US consultancy or agency invoicing clients in Europe and the UK
Both give you EUR and GBP details that clients can pay into for free, and the costs of bringing the money home are close. Wise's fee to convert euros to dollars was 0.47% on 4 October 2026 against Airwallex's 0.5%, a gap small enough that the two reference rates matter as much. Wise then charges $1.13 to move dollars to your US bank and a one-time $31 to open, where Airwallex's ACH payouts and account are free. Pick Wise if you also wire money abroad often, Airwallex if you want cards and bill pay in the same account.
US importer paying overseas suppliers in euros
Recommended
Wise Business
Wise quoted $3.44 to convert $1,000 to euros and pay a European supplier, against about $5 at Airwallex (computed from its published 0.5% markup, since it has no public calculator), and about $6 on Airwallex's Explore plan once its local transfer fees start on 12 October 2026. The gap grows with the amount: $29.46 against about $50 computed on $10,000.
Company that issues cards to staff and wants expenses and bills in one place
Recommended
Airwallex
Airwallex's free Explore plan includes corporate cards with no international transaction fees, expense management, reimbursements and bill pay for up to 10 spend users. Grow adds approval workflows and NetSuite sync. Wise offers team cards and batch payments but no comparable bill-pay or expense workflow.
Business that is regularly paid by domestic wire
Recommended
Wise Business
Wise charges $6.11 per incoming USD wire, while Airwallex charges $15 per Fedwire collection. Airwallex's US fee schedule does not price incoming international Swift payments. Wise is also cheaper to send a USD Swift wire: $7.28 against $15.
Airwallex: Best for 2 use cases
Wise Business: Best for 2 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
It depends on what you do most. As of October 2026, Wise is cheaper for currency conversion: its fee depends on the currency route and is charged on the mid-market rate, 0.29% from USD to EUR on 4 October, against Airwallex's 0.5% above interbank on major currencies. Wise also charges less for wires: $6.11 to receive a domestic USD wire against Airwallex's $15, and $7.28 to send a USD Swift payment against $15. Airwallex is cheaper to open ($0 against Wise's one-time $31) and for domestic ACH payouts (free against $1.13). It is also the only one of the two that will let a new customer take card payments.
Not as a new customer. Wise's US and UK card acceptance pages both say the feature is currently unavailable to new Wise Business customers. Existing users pay 2.9% + 30 cents on US domestic consumer cards and 4.2% + 30 cents on international and business cards. Airwallex accepts cards for US businesses at 2.80% + 30 cents for domestic cards and 4.30% + 30 cents for international cards.
Wise, by a small margin on most major currency routes. Airwallex charges 0.5% above the interbank rate on major currencies such as EUR, GBP, CAD and JPY, and 1% on others. Wise uses the mid-market rate and adds a fee that varies by route and starts at 0.23%. On 4 October 2026 it charged 0.29% from USD to EUR and 0.47% from EUR to USD for a US business. The gap is widest when you convert dollars into euros.
Neither is a bank. Airwallex US is a licensed money transmitter. It says its US partner-bank arrangements are designed to provide FDIC pass-through coverage of up to $250,000 per qualified customer account. For some US customers, funds sit at Evolve Bank & Trust in an omnibus account that Evolve has committed to keep eligible for pass-through insurance. That coverage protects against the bank failing, not Airwallex. Wise US Inc. is also a money transmitter. It says money in a Wise account is not FDIC-insured unless you opt in to its interest feature, which sweeps USD into an FDIC-insured account at a program bank, currently JPMorgan Chase.
Neither does for the basic account. Airwallex's Explore plan is $0 a month. Its Grow plan costs $12 per active spend user a month plus a platform fee, and adds approval workflows and NetSuite sync. Wise has no monthly fee, but charges a one-time $31 to open account details in 22 currencies.
Wise is easier to reach. Its help centre says its phone lines are open 24/7, with a US toll-free number. Airwallex's US phone line runs 07:00 to 17:00 PT, Monday to Friday, with email support on every plan and a dedicated account manager only on its custom-priced Accelerate plan. Payment Review scores both 2.5 out of 5 for support, and both draw complaints about funds held during account reviews.
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