Airwallex
$338/mo est.
- In-person rate
- —
- Online rate
- —
- Monthly fee
- $0 (Explore plan)
- Terminal cost
- —
- Contract length
- No lock-in on entry plans
- Settlement time
- —
- Est. monthly cost
- $338/mo
Airwallex
Melbourne-founded global payments platform with multi-currency collection and settlement for cross-border marketplaces and platforms.
- In-person rate
- —
- Online rate
- —
- Monthly fee
- $0 (Explore plan)
- Contract
- No lock-in on entry plans
Best for
Cross-border marketplaces needing multi-currency settlement and global payouts
Pricing breakdown
All prices in AUDLast verified 11 June 2026Every fee we track, grouped by where it applies.
In-person payments
EFTPOS terminal and tap-to-pay transactions.
- Monthly fee
- $0 (Explore plan)
Explore plan $0/mo when depositing $5K+/mo or holding a $10K balance, otherwise $29/mo. Grow $99/mo, Accelerate from $999/mo.
Online payments
Online checkout and keyed-in card transactions.
- Monthly fee
- $0 (Explore plan)
Explore plan $0/mo when depositing $5K+/mo or holding a $10K balance, otherwise $29/mo. Grow $99/mo, Accelerate from $999/mo.
Contract terms
- Contract length
- No lock-in on entry plans
Accepted payment methods
Cards, wallets, and other methods supported by Airwallex for Australian merchants.
Cards
- Visa
- Mastercard
- AMEX
- UnionPay
- JCB
- Diners Club
Digital wallets
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
Other
- Alipay
- WeChat Pay
Strengths and trade-offs
Pros
- Multi-currency collection (170+ currencies) and settlement
- Payouts to 200+ countries
- Connected accounts with hosted KYC and AML
- Melbourne-founded, ASIC-regulated (AFSL 487221)
Cons
- Transaction pricing not fully public
- Plan fees apply on higher tiers
- Marketplace features need developer integration
About Airwallex
Airwallex offers Payments for Platforms, letting marketplaces embed global payment acceptance, connected seller accounts and programmatic payouts. It collects in 180+ countries, pays out to 200+ countries and settles across multiple currencies, with a unified layer of global licences handling KYC and AML. Founded in Melbourne in 2015 and regulated by ASIC (AFSL 487221), Airwallex suits platforms with international sellers and buyers that need true multi-currency settlement.
Airwallex was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.
How Airwallex compares
Side-by-side with the closest alternatives by estimated cost.
Assumes $15,000/mo volume, $50 average transaction, 70% in-person and 30% online.
Stripe
$345/mo est.
- In-person rate
- —
- Online rate
- —
- Monthly fee
- Free
- Terminal cost
- —
- Contract length
- No lock-in, pay as you go
- Settlement time
- —
- Est. monthly cost
- $345/mo
Zai
$273/mo est.
- In-person rate
- —
- Online rate
- —
- Monthly fee
- No monthly fee
- Terminal cost
- —
- Contract length
- Contact provider
- Settlement time
- —
- Est. monthly cost
- $273/mo
PayPal
$525/mo est.
- In-person rate
- —
- Online rate
- —
- Monthly fee
- Free
- Terminal cost
- —
- Contract length
- No lock-in
- Settlement time
- —
- Est. monthly cost
- $525/mo
Common questions about Airwallex
The same questions Australian merchants ask before signing up.
Airwallex Payments for Platforms lets you collect funds from buyers via connected accounts, deduct your platform fee programmatically, and route the seller share to their Airwallex wallet. From there, sellers can withdraw in their preferred currency or via their preferred payout rail. The split logic is API-driven and can work alongside an existing primary payment provider.
On the entry-level Explore plan, the transaction rate is 1.65% + $0.30 plus a $0.30 fixed fee per charge. Higher-volume plans carry different rates and feature sets; pricing details for those plans are available on request.
The Explore plan has a monthly platform fee of $0 (Explore plan) with no minimum volume. This makes Airwallex accessible for early-stage Australian marketplaces that want to avoid fixed overhead while they grow.
Yes. Airwallex holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL 487221) and is regulated by ASIC. It is one of the few marketplace payment providers with a direct Australian regulatory footprint, which simplifies compliance obligations for Australian platforms.
Airwallex can pay out to sellers in more than 200 countries and settle in more than 20 currencies on a like-for-like basis, avoiding unnecessary conversion. It collects in more than 170 currencies. This cross-border depth is particularly useful for Australian platforms with international seller bases.
Airwallex provides hosted KYC onboarding flows for connected accounts that collect the identity and business information required under AML/CTF rules. The onboarding can be embedded into your platform UI or handled via a hosted link. AML screening runs during and after onboarding.
Both have no monthly fee and offer developer-friendly APIs. Airwallex holds an Australian AFSL, offers a broader payout network (200+ countries), and may appeal more to platforms with strong cross-border flows. Stripe Connect has more mature documentation and a larger developer community. Transaction rates are broadly comparable at entry level, though Airwallex plan fees apply at higher tiers.
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