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Home  >  Guides to grow your business  >  Business Banking Insights

WorldFirst vs Airwallex: Features, fees and account comparison

Last updated : 6 Jun 2025

We compare WorldFirst and Airwallex to get a sense of their features, fees, strengths and how they stack up against each other.

Key takeaways

  • With a World Account, you can receive and hold funds in over 15+ local currencies, and make payments in more than 90 global currencies
  • Airwallex also provides a multi-currency account, along with global payment solutions like payment gateways and links to help you accept money
  • Both WorldFirst and Airwallex offer multi-currency debit cards, enabling global teams to streamline global expense management

WorldFirst and Airwallex offer global multi-currency accounts, allowing businesses to make secure transactions in major currencies. But which one can simplify cross-border transactions while protecting your business’s profit margins?

In this comparison article, we take a look at WorldFirst vs Airwallex, their features, fees, exchange rates, and more so you can choose the best business account that aligns with your needs.

Table of Contents

What is WorldFirst?

A part of Ant International, WorldFirst is an international payment provider that helps businesses expand into more countries and reach more customers by providing local currency accounts.

With WorldFirst, global businesses can set up local currency accounts in 15+ currencies, collect payments, pay overseas suppliers, hold and convert currencies at competitive exchange rates, and manage spending with multi-currency debit cards.

WorldFirst offers other services and tools beyond international money transfers, to make global business easier. You can reduce currency conversion risks through a locked-in rate and sync your payments to Xero or NetSuite for automated accounting. Take a look at how WorldFirst works and how your funds are safeguarded.

What is Airwallex?

Airwallex provides an integrated platform for foreign exchange and cross-border payments. As a global payment provider, it lets businesses open multi-currency accounts and accept payments through shareable payment links and other payment methods like credit cards [1].

It also integrates with e-commerce platforms through APIs. However, using these APIs requires developer support.

Airwallex users can get Visa-powered business debit cards as well.

→ Take a look at our in-depth Airwallex review to learn more about the payment provider and its features. You can also explore the complete list of Airwallex alternatives to choose the best business account.

WorldFirst vs Airwallex: Fees and exchange rates

WorldFirst Airwallex account fees [2]
Opening a multi-currency account Free AUD 29–AUD 499, depending on the plan
(waived if you deposit at least AUD 5k per month or hold a minimum balance of AUD 10k)
Receiving funds in the local currency accounts Free Free
Sending payments to users in the same network Free and instant to other World Accounts Instant, regular fees applies
Sending payments to other accounts Local payments in AUD or NZD: Free

Cross-border payments and local payments in currencies other than AUD or NZD: From 0.4%, capped at AUD 15
Free for domestic payments

For international payments, 0.5% above interbank rates for major currencies, 1% for all others


For SWIFT payments, charges are AUD 15–AUD 30
Holding funds in multiple currencies Free Airwallex doesn’t specify any fee
Currency conversion For major currencies: Up to 0.6%

For minor currencies: From 0.67%

Forpayments to 1688 suppliers: Up to 0.8%

Forward contracts: Up to 0.2% per month
0.5% for major currencies and 1% for other currencies
Multi-currency card
Up to 20 virtual cards available at no additional cost

Number of cards depends on the monthly plan. The starter plan of AUD 29 comes with 2 free employee cards and 10 company cards
Forward contracts
Integration with accounting tools
Payments to 1688.com suppliers Up to 0.8% ❌Not supported

*Fees as checked in May 2025

Calculate how much you can save with WorldFirst

Open a World Account for free
  • Open 15+ local currency accounts and get paid like a local
  • Pay suppliers, partners and staff worldwide in 100+ currencies
  • Collect payments for free from 130+ marketplaces and payment gateways, including Amazon, Etsy, PayPal and Shopify
  • Take control of spending with the World Card, a business expense card that saves you more with 1% cashback. Learn more
  • Save with competitive exchange rates on currency conversions and transfers
  • Lock in exchange rates for up to 24 months for cash flow certainty

WorldFirst vs Airwallex: Feature comparison

Multi-currency account

WorldFirst and Airwallex offer multi-currency accounts, allowing businesses to send, receive and hold funds in multiple currencies. Each local currency account comes with unique account details in your company name.

WorldFirst Airwallex
Monthly account fee Free AUD 29–AUD 499 [2]

(waived if you deposit at least AUD 5k per month or hold a minimum balance of AUD 10k)
Local currency account details 15+ currencies (including GBP, USD, EUR, AUD, JPY, NZD, SGD, HKD, CNH and CAD)

WorldFirst also provides offshore accounts for AED, CHF, SEK and PLN.
20+  

Currencies supported for sending and receiving funds
100+ currencies 64 currencies [7]

Details checked in May 2025

Marketplace and payment gateway integration

With a World Account, online sellers can collect payments from 130+ global marketplaces and payment gateways, including Amazon, Etsy, AliExpress and Stripe. 

To receive payments, add your local currency account details to your marketplace seller account or payment gateway account.

If a marketplace requires proof of account ownership when you want to change the bank account details linked to your seller account, it’s easy to download an account verification letter straight from your dashboard.

Airwallex also lets users collect marketplace payments through local currency accounts. Alternatively, businesses can use checkout pages, payment links and payment plugins to accept payments through 160+ local payment methods [3].

Account-to-account transfers

Payments between World Accounts in the same currency are free and instant, with no transaction fees. For transfers involving currency exchange, a maximum 0.6% currency conversion fee is applicable.

Transferring from one Airwallex account to another is possible .

Integration with accounting tools

You can connect your World Account to Xero or NetSuite to automatically reconcile transactions in 15+ currencies, including EUR, USD and AUD, reducing admin and manual data entry.

Airwallex supports integration with Xero, NetSuite and Quickbooks.

Security

WorldFirst Pty Ltd is an Australian company, holds an Australian Financial Services (AFS) Licence regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).

Airwallex Pty Ltd holds an AFS Licence regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) [4].

Customer support

WorldFirst has a dedicated Australia-based support team that you can reach via email, phone and live chat during office hours.

Airwallex has a Melbourne office but phone support is only in the US, Canada or China. That means that getting real-time support from Airwallex may require contacting them outside of your working hours due to the time zone difference.

Multi-currency cards

WorldFirst also offers the World Card, a multi-currency debit card powered by Mastercard that supports payments in 150+ currencies. When making payments in 15 major currencies, you’ll pay zero foreign exchange fees, provided you have sufficient balances in your account. As a World Account user, you can apply for up to 20 World Cards for your business at no additional cost.

The Airwallex Borderless Card, powered by Visa, enables online and in-person purchases globally [8]. It supports multiple currencies and links to the Airwallex multi-currency account. Businesses can issue company and employee cards for streamlined spending.

Depending on the selected monthly pricing plan, users get a fixed number of free cards. Additional cards cost AUD 15 per user per month [2].

→ Curious how their cards compare? Check out our blog on World Card vs Airwallex Borderless Card to see which one suits your needs.

Which is better for global businesses?

While WorldFirst and Airwallex offer similar solutions for businesses in Australia, there are also some key differences between the two, including the fees they charge and the supported currencies. The best foreign currency account will depend on your business needs and budget.

Sources

  1. https://www.airwallex.com/au
  2. https://www.airwallex.com/au/pricing
  3. https://www.airwallex.com/platform-api-and-embedded-finance/payments
  4. https://help.airwallex.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4404265644185-How-does-Airwallex-keep-my-money-safe#h_01GXWJ0FZNPFSVGE7Y22BXA6T4
  5. https://help.airwallex.com/hc/en-gb/articles/900001757106-How-is-Airwallex-licensed-and-regulated
  6. https://www.airwallex.com/docs/global-treasury__market-and-infrastructure-coverage
  7. https://www.airwallex.com/docs/transactional-fx__supported-regions-and-currencies
  8. https://www.airwallex.com/au/spend-management/cards

Disclaimer: The information contained is general only and largely our views.  Before acting on the information you should consider whether it is appropriate for you, in light of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions, estimates, mentioned products/services and referenced material constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. WorldFirst shall not be responsible for any losses or damages arising from your reliance of such information.

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  • Almost 1,000,000 businesses have sent USD$300B around the world with WorldFirst and its partner brands since 2004
  • Your money is safeguarded with leading financial institutions

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