Airwallex Singapore Business Account Review: Fees, Features & Alternatives [2026]

Airwallex is a MAS-licensed payment institution and good value for many Singapore businesses, but its reviews split sharply: 57% of its 2,584 Trustpilot reviews are five-star and 36% are one-star. The split is mostly about what happens when something goes wrong, like a payment stuck in review while a supplier waits, or a support reply that doesn't answer the question.

This review gives you the verdict first, then the fees, the risks, and a side-by-side with Statrys on real numbers, so you can tell which side of those reviews your business is likely to land on.

At a Glance

Statrys competes directly with Airwallex in Hong Kong and Singapore. We've tried to keep this review balanced, and we say clearly where Airwallex is cheaper or better.

This review is built from Airwallex's published Singapore fees and terms as of October 2026, plus Trustpilot and G2 reviews. We didn't open an Airwallex account for it. Fees and eligibility rules change, so confirm current terms on Airwallex's own site before applying.

Airwallex Pros and Cons

The pattern is consistent: day-to-day use is cheap and easy, and the cost shows up when you convert a lot or when a payment gets held.

Who Airwallex Is Right For

Good fit

• Businesses that receive many small international payments. Receiving is free for most currencies, so a marketplace seller with 20 payouts a month pays nothing to collect them.
• Teams that need company cards. Cards are free, with spending limits and approvals built in.
• Businesses paying mostly in Singapore. Local payouts through FAST and GIRO are free.
• Businesses holding several currencies. Local account details in markets including the US, UK, EU, Australia and Hong Kong let payers use local rails instead of SWIFT.

Not a good fit

• Businesses that convert large amounts. At 0.40% or more per conversion, FX becomes the biggest line on your bill. The cost comparison below shows where the line sits.
• Founders who want an assigned contact. Below SGD 399 a month, there's no assigned account manager, so a held payment goes through the general support queue. If a hold would break a payroll date, that matters.
• Teams that need cash. Airwallex says its corporate card isn't designed for ATM use.
• Companies registered in Hong Kong, the BVI or mainland China. You'd be onboarded by a different Airwallex entity (see below). Read our Hong Kong review of Airwallex instead.

Is Airwallex Safe and Regulated?

Yes. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. is licensed by MAS as a Major Payment Institution (Licence No. PS20200541). Your money sits in a client segregated trust account, which Airwallex says isn't available to its creditors, and customers rank ahead of other creditors if Airwallex fails. That's called safeguarding.

Safeguarding isn't deposit insurance. Singapore's Deposit Insurance Scheme covers Singapore dollar deposits at banks and finance companies up to SGD 100,000 per depositor per member, and foreign currency deposits aren't covered. Airwallex isn't a bank, so the scheme doesn't apply. Statrys Singapore is also a MAS-licensed Major Payment Institution (Licence No. PS20200692) and not a bank, so the same applies there.

The realistic risk with Airwallex isn't losing your money. It's not being able to use it for a while during a compliance review, which is what most one-star reviews describe.

Which Airwallex company holds your account depends on where your company is registered:

Airwallex Fees

Every figure below comes from Airwallex's Singapore fee schedule and pricing page. Fees exclude GST.

Plans

Transfer and FX Fees

What the Fee Table Doesn't Tell You

The SWIFT choice changes what your supplier receives. On the SGD 20 "shared" option, their bank can take a fee and they get less than the invoice. On SGD 35, they get the full amount. If you pay invoices in full, budget SGD 35. Our guide to how a SWIFT payment works explains where the deductions come from.

The 0.40% markup is the floor. It covers 11 currencies. Pay suppliers in rupiah or baht and it's 0.60%.

Ask about the 1.00% auto-conversion fee. It's more than double the standard markup, and the fee schedule doesn't say what triggers it. Check with support before you set up automated payouts.

Grow pays off when someone else approves payments. Explore's 10 cards and 5 spend users cover most small teams. Grow's approvals matter once you have staff, and Accelerate mostly makes sense for groups running several legal entities.

What Real Users Report

Trustpilot: 2.8/5 from 2,584 reviews. The rating splits sharply: 57% five stars, 36% one star, and around 7% in between. Airwallex replies to 97% of negative reviews, typically within 24 hours.

The one-star reviews we read fall into four groups:

• Accounts restricted or funds held during a review, with no clear reason or timeline. One reviewer said funds had been restricted for more than two months and the case had gone to an external complaints body.
• Applications refused with a standard reply pointing to the Acceptable Use Policy.
• Incoming customer payments held for days, sometimes after the payer passed card authentication.
• Support that answers with generic replies, or a phone line that points to email.

The five-star reviews praise the platform and named support staff.

G2: 4.1/5 from 57 reviews. Reviewers like the ease of use and the integrations, and some report slow responses during account issues. With fewer than 100 reviews, treat it as a small sample.

The two sites draw different reviewers: anyone can post on Trustpilot, while G2 reviews come from business software users. Read together, they say the same thing: everyday use is easy, and trouble comes at compliance holds.

For context, Statrys is rated 4.8/5 from 526 Trustpilot reviews. Statrys invites customers to review, which tends to lift a score, so read it with the same caution.

If Airwallex Holds a Payment or Freezes Your Account

You can't prevent every hold, but you can shorten one:

1. Answer the request for information fully, the first time. Quote your registered email and ticket number, and attach every document requested in one reply.
2. Reply inside your existing ticket. A new ticket can restart the queue.
3. Show the commercial reason. Invoices and contracts for the payment usually resolve holds after a large or unusual transfer.
4. Escalate formally if it drags on. Use Airwallex's complaints process, then the external route your regulator provides.

The bigger lesson is concentration risk: if payroll and supplier payments run through one provider, a hold there stops everything. Keep a second account for those payments.

If you keep Airwallex for cards and collections, Statrys can be that second account: no monthly fee, no minimum deposit, and an assigned account manager.

Opening an Airwallex Account

If Airwallex is the right fit, here's what to expect.

Who can apply. An active company registered in Singapore, India, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Fiji or Costa Rica. Airwallex doesn't serve some industries, including adult content, gambling, weapons and multi-level marketing, and declines businesses outside its risk appetite. Financial, investment, live streaming, gaming and marketplace businesses fill in an extra questionnaire. Read the unsupported industries list first, because a refusal usually comes without a reason you can act on.

Documents. ID for every director, authorised person and ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) holding 25% or more; proof of address under 6 months old for UBOs and authorised persons; and an ownership chart signed by a director if ownership can't be verified from public records. Airwallex's document requirements for Singapore companies list every case.

Timing. Airwallex says the online application takes around 20 minutes and review typically takes a few business days. Approval isn't guaranteed.

Airwallex vs Statrys

Statrys offers the same kind of account in Singapore, so this comparison isn't neutral. The figures below come from each provider's published pricing, so you can check them.

What You'd Actually Pay

Neither is cheaper in every case. Four typical businesses:

The exporter saves roughly SGD 3,400 a year on Statrys. The importer pays about SGD 60 a month more on Airwallex's SGD 20 option and about SGD 285 more on its SGD 35 option. The marketplace seller saves roughly SGD 1,100 a year on Airwallex, and the local-only business pays nothing there. The seller's Statrys figure assumes its payouts arrive by SWIFT; payouts sent locally in SGD are free to collect on both.

A quick way to check your own case: each incoming SWIFT payment on Statrys costs SGD 6.5, which equals the FX saving on about SGD 2,200 of conversions. If you convert more than that for each payment you receive, Statrys tends to come out cheaper. Statrys's FX is "from 0.1%", so some currencies cost more, which narrows the gap.

When Statrys Is the Better Fit

The risk this review keeps returning to is a payment stuck in review with nobody to call. Statrys's answer is a dedicated account manager for every client, reachable by phone, WhatsApp or email. Every regulated provider runs compliance checks, Statrys included, but you have a named person to ask when one affects you.

The other reason is cost at volume. With FX from 0.1% and a flat SGD 20 per SWIFT payment, a business converting SGD 80,000 a month pays roughly half what it would on Airwallex.

Statrys is the weaker choice in some cases, and you should know them before applying:

• No card on the Singapore account. You'd need a Statrys Hong Kong account for Mastercard® cards, or another provider.
• Stricter on some industries. Statrys doesn't accept charities and NGOs, trusts and foundations, pharmacological goods, crypto, or money service businesses and payment service providers.
• Local payments aren't free. FAST transfers cost SGD 1.5, and local payments abroad SGD 4 to 8.5.
• Fewer currencies. 11 against Airwallex's 20+.

See how Statrys works for Singapore businesses and its published pricing, or compare more providers in our guide to the best business accounts in Singapore and our Airwallex vs Wise review.