Airwallex vs Wise Business for a UK Company: Fees Compared

Airwallex is a plan based business account built around spend management, bill pay and online payment acceptance, with a monthly fee that is waived at £10,000. Wise Business is a pay as you go account built around holding, converting and sending money, with one set up fee. Both give a UK company local account details in many currencies.

All figures are as listed on each provider UK pricing page on 15 November 2026, and Airwallex prices exclude VAT. Fees change, so check their current pages before you decide. For Wise on its own, read Wise Business for a UK Ltd.

Wise is usually the lower fixed cost because it has no monthly fee, only 50 GBP once. Airwallex costs £19 a month on Explore unless you deposit at least £10,000 in the month or hold £10,000 across your balances, when it costs £0. After that, the difference is the conversion rate and the transfer fees.

Airwallex says its monthly fee is charged per business legal entity, and that fees per transaction and per active spend user come on top. The £10,000 deposit can be bank deposits, direct debits or payment processing volume during the month, in any currency. Subscription fees for Explore and Grow are waived for one month for eligible customers.

On conversion, Airwallex names AUD, USD, HKD, CNY, EUR, GBP and SGD among its currencies and charges 0.5% above interbank rates for major ones. Wise publishes a starting rate of 0.24% that varies by currency, and a volume discount when you move more than 20,000 GBP or the equivalent in a month. Converting £10,000 would cost £50 at the Airwallex 0.5% rate and from £24 at the lowest Wise rate, so check the rate for your own currency pair on both pages.

Both give your UK company local account details in more than 20 currencies. Airwallex lists accounts with local bank details in 20+ currencies on every plan, with local transfers to 120+ countries and Swift transfers to 200+ countries. Wise lists account details to receive in 22 currencies, included in its 50 GBP fee.

• Airwallex: multiple accounts per entity, direct debit in and out at no charge, and international batch transfers on Explore
• Airwallex: domestic transfers in EUR, GBP and CHF are free on all three plans
• Wise: receiving domestic payments, meaning not Swift or wire, is free in nine currencies including GBP, EUR and USD
• Wise: holding money in the account is free
• Wise: Swift payments can be received in a further 19 currencies, with fees listed on its help pages

If most customers pay you by local bank transfer in pounds, euros or dollars, both do the job. Look at the currencies you actually invoice in and confirm each one on the provider page before you sign up. A company that also sells through marketplaces may want to read Airwallex vs Payoneer.

Airwallex has the broader toolkit: company and employee cards with expense management, online card acceptance with local payment methods, invoicing and ecommerce integrations. Wise covers the essentials with business debit cards, payment links, card payments at 1% for domestic consumer cards, and accounting connections. Your choice depends on how much of that you would use.

Wise says customers can pay by card in 18 currencies, that there is no monthly fee for card acceptance, and that it pays the money into your Wise account in the currency the customer paid. Airwallex also charges 0.50% per successful transaction for subscription management and usage based billing, and lists bill pay for up to 500 bills a month on Explore. If you take most payments through Stripe, see Stripe for non residents.

Neither provider states that directors of a UK company must live in the UK. Airwallex asks a UK limited company for photo ID and a residential address for every director and every owner of 25% or more. Wise asks for a registered address and a physical trading address in a country Wise Business supports.

Airwallex says the business must be fully incorporated, active and in good standing, registered in a country it supports, and within its industry rules. It cannot serve a business that is on a sanctions list, is a shell bank or is a bearer share entity. For a UK limited company it lists the certificate of incorporation, the memorandum and articles of association, the ID and address documents above, and a liveness check of the person applying. It may ask a new business for invoices, contracts, statements or a business plan.

Airwallex says processing takes 1 to 3 business days once you have submitted everything, and that meeting the requirements does not guarantee approval. Wise says its registered and trading addresses can be in different countries, and that the trading address cannot be a PO Box, a mail forwarding or receiving service, a virtual office, a solicitor office or a business registration agency.

We could not confirm a published list of countries where directors may live for either provider, so check with them if you are unsure. Other options for founders abroad are in UK business bank account for non residents.

Choose Wise if you want the lowest fixed cost and mainly hold, convert and send money. Choose Airwallex if you would use its cards for a team, bill pay, online checkout or ecommerce integrations, and can deposit or hold £10,000 so the Explore fee is waived. Neither is a bank, so neither offers FSCS cover.

On protection the two are alike. The FCA register shows Airwallex (UK) Limited, reference number 900876, as an Authorised Electronic Money Institution since 26 November 2018, and Wise Payments Limited, reference number 900507, since 7 June 2018. Airwallex says it is not a bank and is not covered by the FSCS, and that customer funds are kept in separate safeguarding accounts; the FCA says the same of every electronic money institution. See bank vs electronic money account for what that means.

1. 1

   Write down a normal month

   How much arrives, in which currencies, how much you convert, and how many people need a card.

2. 2

   Test the £10,000 line

   If you will not deposit or hold £10,000 in a month, add £19 a month plus VAT to the Airwallex side of the sum.

3. 3

   Price your main currency pair

   Compare the Airwallex 0.5% or 1% rate with the Wise rate shown for the same currencies on its pricing page.

4. 4

   Apply with matching details

   Use the name, number and addresses on the Companies House register, after every director has completed identity verification.

Many companies open both, so a review at one provider does not stop payments. If one of your directors lives in the UK, the EEA or Switzerland, a bank option opens up too: see Wise vs Revolut Business.