Airwallex lets UK businesses pay suppliers in 40+ currencies at interbank rates — in batch, with Xero reconciliation, and with no £25 wire transfer fees per payment.
What Is Airwallex
Airwallex is a financial infrastructure platform that gives UK SMEs access to the same international payment capabilities that large corporates have — at a fraction of the cost.
Pay suppliers in their local currency at interbank exchange rates with no markup. No £15–£25 per transfer wire fees. Batch payments to multiple suppliers in a single run.
Hold balances in USD, EUR, GBP, and other currencies. Receive payments in local currency without conversion until you choose. Reduce FX exposure by matching currency inflows and outflows.
Issue multi-currency virtual and physical cards for team spending. Set limits by cardholder, by category, by amount. All transactions reconcile automatically in Xero.
Airwallex connects to Xero. Payments made in Airwallex sync automatically, reconciling against the corresponding Xero transactions. No manual bank statement entry for international payments.
Airwallex integrates with ApprovalMax for payment-level approval controls. Batch payments can be routed for sign-off before release — ensuring no international payment goes out without the right authorisation.
Track all international payment activity — amounts, currencies, exchange rates, fees — in Airwallex's dashboard. Reconciled against Xero for accurate multi-currency financial reporting.
Why Airwallex
UK businesses with international suppliers have historically been stuck paying high street bank rates and fees. Airwallex changes that.
Why it wins against high street banks for international payments: A typical UK high street bank charges £15–£25 per international wire transfer plus a 2–4% FX spread on top of interbank rates. A business making 20 international supplier payments per month pays £300–£500 in fees and loses hundreds more on the FX spread. Airwallex eliminates the wire fees and offers interbank rates — the savings are immediate and significant.
What You Can Do With It
Airwallex covers international payments, multi-currency accounts, cards, and reconciliation — all in one platform that connects to Xero.
Pay multiple international suppliers in a single payment run. Select all outstanding bills in Airwallex, review the exchange rates, confirm, and release. All payments go out simultaneously. Xero reconciles automatically afterwards.
Hold balances in USD, EUR, AUD, SGD, and other currencies. Receive international payments directly into the relevant currency account without forced conversion. Convert when rates are favourable.
Issue multi-currency cards for team members with individual spending limits. Marketing team gets a USD card for digital advertising spend. Finance team gets a GBP card for supplier payments. All transactions auto-reconcile in Xero.
Before any batch payment is released from Airwallex, it routes through ApprovalMax for approval. The person who prepares the payment batch is different from the person who authorises it — full segregation of duties for international payments.
Pay international team members and contractors in their local currency at competitive rates. No more asking overseas staff to accept GBP and bear the conversion cost themselves.
Set rate alerts, lock in forward rates for known future payments, and manage FX exposure systematically. For businesses with significant international spend, this can represent meaningful savings over paying at spot rate every time.
Better Together
Airwallex handles the international payment end of the finance function. Here is how it fits into the connected Fintelwise stack.
ApprovalMax approves the bills. Airwallex releases the payments in the correct currency. Xero reconciles automatically. Full international AP with segregation of duties and zero manual bank statement entry.
Stripe collects from international clients in their currency. Airwallex pays international suppliers in theirs. Both sides of the international cash cycle handled without high street bank rates or fees.
Dext processes invoices from international suppliers in any currency, coding them to Xero correctly. Airwallex pays them in their local currency. The full international AP cycle automated.
Airwallex transactions sync to Xero in the correct currencies. Fathom reads Xero and produces management accounts that correctly reflect multi-currency operations — gains, losses, and true GBP performance.
Who Benefits Most
Any UK business with international suppliers, overseas staff, or multi-currency revenue benefits from Airwallex. These industries see the highest impact.
Any UK business paying overseas suppliers benefits from Airwallex immediately — lower fees, better rates, faster payments in local currency.
Software licences in USD, overseas development teams, cloud infrastructure costs in multiple currencies. Airwallex handles the full international spend portfolio.
International media buying, overseas freelancers, global platform fees. Airwallex reduces the cost of international spend significantly for agencies.
International clients, overseas partners, multi-currency project billing. Airwallex handles both the collection and payment sides of international professional services.
Placing candidates internationally, paying overseas contractors, working with US clients. Airwallex manages the multi-currency complexity of international recruitment.
Overseas supplier payments, import costs, multi-currency inventory purchasing. Airwallex replaces costly bank transfers for regular international procurement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Airwallex is a financial infrastructure platform that gives businesses access to multi-currency accounts, international payments at interbank rates, business cards, and Xero integration — replacing high street banking for international financial operations.
High street banks typically charge £15–£25 per international wire transfer plus a 2–4% markup on the interbank exchange rate. Airwallex charges no wire fees on most currency corridors and offers interbank rates with minimal markup. For businesses making regular international payments, the savings are significant.
Yes. Airwallex has a native Xero integration. Payments made in Airwallex sync to Xero automatically, reconciling against the corresponding transactions. Multi-currency transactions are handled correctly with automatic exchange rate recording.
Yes. Airwallex is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK as an authorised Electronic Money Institution. Client funds are safeguarded in accordance with FCA requirements.
Yes. ApprovalMax integrates with Airwallex to add approval workflows at the payment stage. Before a batch payment is released from Airwallex, it can be routed through ApprovalMax for sign-off — ensuring segregation of duties between the person who prepares payments and the person who authorises them.
Airwallex supports sending payments in 40+ currencies to 150+ countries. Key currencies include USD, EUR, AUD, SGD, HKD, JPY, CAD, and CHF alongside GBP. Full currency coverage is available on the Airwallex website.
Book a free 30-minute scoping call. We will review your current international payment process and show you what Airwallex looks like in your specific setup.
