PayPal vs Airwallex: compare on fees, features and benefits

What is PayPal?

PayPal is one of the world’s most recognisable financial technology companies.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, the online payments system helps buyers and sellers exchange money without using a card or bank account transfers. 

In 1998, PayPal’s founders Max Levchin, Peter Thiel and Luke Nosek started the company under a different name.

Soon after, the business pivoted to creating a digital wallet, and ever since it has provided a platform that allows customers to buy online without giving their sensitive financial information to sellers.

Today, PayPal operates in most countries around the world. It has 426 million active users and total payment volume reached an impressive $1.53 trillion in Q4 of 20231.

A major player in the digital payment scene, PayPal has also developed additional features to help customers manage their money. These include:

• PayPal Working Capital

• Pay in 3

• Cash cards

• Business debit cards

• Xoom wire transfer services

What is Airwallex?

Airwallex is a financial technology company that helps businesses to collect, hold, convert, manage and send money all around the world.

Founded in 2015 in Australia, the end-to-end financial solution helps growing businesses and enterprises move money across borders and streamline financial operations.

Unlike PayPal, Airwallex is designed purely for businesses and has three core products: a multi-currency Business Account, Core API and Embedded Finance solution. 

With Airwallex, organisations can collect domestic and international customer payments from 180+ countries in a multi-currency wallet. 23 currencies can be held at no extra cost, and if currency conversions are needed, Airwallex customers enjoy competitive FX rates and minimal cross-border friction.

Airwallex also offers a full suite of financial operations features like expense management and multi-currency employee and corporate cards.

Compare PayPal with Airwallex

Use our comparison table to see how PayPal measures up against Airwallex on fees, features and benefits.

PayPal fees explained

Although it’s free to open a PayPal for Business account, as soon as you start receiving or sending money you’ll pay a fee.

If you’re moving funds across borders, PayPal’s international fees can stack up very quickly.

The platform has a complex payment structure with many variables that change depending on the type of transaction and where you’re receiving money from.   

For receiving international commercial transactions, PayPal charges between 2.49% + 30p and 4.89% + 30p. The company combines the standard domestic transaction fees, plus an additional percentage-based fee for receiving overseas payments.

There’s also an additional fee for international business transactions that involve a currency conversion. This is 3% above the base exchange rate.

Airwallex fees explained

Airwallex fees are different because we’ve invested in our local payment network to make the transfer of funds internationally quicker and more cost-effective. For international payments in the majority of countries (110+), we won’t charge you any transaction fees. For traditional SWIFT transfers to 150+ countries, flat fees apply.

You can accept and hold 23 currencies in an Airwallex business account without incurring any fees.

If you need to convert currencies, our FX rates are interbank rate + 0.5% for USD, HKD, CNY, AUD, EUR, GBP, CAD, SGD, CHF, NZD, JPY, or 1.0% for all other currencies.

From your multi-currency wallet, you can spend directly in 10+ countries with virtual and physical cards with 0% foreign transaction fees. If you don’t have the currency balance, we’ll auto-convert your available funds in your home currency at market-leading FX rates.

Airwallex vs PayPal key features & benefits

Find out which online payment gateway suits your needs best by considering the following features.

Payment methods

• How you receive payments with PayPal changes with the size of your business. Enterprises can accept card payments online and at POS, PayPal balances, buy-now-pay-later and 10+ local payment methods from 200+ countries.

• Airwallex facilitates online payments including cards, 180+ local payment methods in 180+ countries, no-code payment links and customisable checkouts via API.

Debit cards

• PayPal offers a business debit card that lets users pay with their PayPal balance in stores and online with no annual fee. Airwallex Borderless Cards can be used in 10+ currencies directly, or any currency supported by Visa. The first five employee cards are free and come with an in-built expense management tool.

Credit

• PayPal Working Capital is a cash advance between £1,000 and £185,000, based on your PayPal sales, account history and other criteria.

• Airwallex products don’t include credit.

Expense management

• PayPal cards have basic control features like automatic and recurring payments.

• Airwallex helps teams track and control spending globally through spending limits, multi-layer approvals and a centralised dashboard to submit expenses and see cash flow.

Final thoughts: PayPal vs Airwallex

The major differences between Airwallex and PayPal are the end user, fees and additional capabilities.

Airwallex is designed purely for businesses. As an end-to-end financial solution, we support ambitious companies with a variety of features including expense management, reporting and supporting accounts payable.

PayPal is recognised across the world and operates from most countries, supporting both consumers and businesses.

For many, it’s a great fit for ad-hoc international payments. But if you’re looking for an all-in-one financial partner who can help you beyond receiving and accepting payments, it may fall short. 

Plus, if you’re moving money across borders, PayPal’s high transaction fees can add up quickly.

Airwallex is an alternative solution that could help you slash hidden costs with zero hidden fees, market-leading FX rates and integrated financial management tools. Use our PayPal fees calculator to find out how much you could save.