Wise vs Airwallex vs Revolut: Business Account Fees in 2026

Published USD Prices Require Careful Qualification

This comparison uses US tariffs accessed on 15 November 2026 as its USD reference. They suit an Asia-Pacific exporter with a US entity, but do not establish eligibility or local prices in Australia, Singapore, Canada or the UK. A universal cross-country tariff is not disclosed on the pages reviewed.

Wise's starting percentage needs qualification: it is not a confirmed USD/AUD or USD/SGD quote. For FX fees for SMEs, compare executable quotes for the same amount and recipient currency instead of treating advertised minimums as universal prices.

Transfer Routes Can Overturn the Subscription Comparison

Airwallex's marketing page describes free batch transfers, while its fee schedule, updated on 5 November 2026, lists international local-network fees effective from 12 October. Those charges do not apply to Grow and Accelerate customers, so Explore transfer costing should follow the schedule.

Explore's listed charges include $1 for AUD and SGD local-network transfers and $7 for JPY transfers. SWIFT costs $15 under SHA or $25 under OUR. The schedule also lists $15 for US Fedwire collections. A zero subscription does not mean a zero-cost payment route (Airwallex fee schedule).

Wise lists free domestic, non-wire receipts in supported currencies, including USD, AUD, CAD and SGD. Receiving USD wire or SWIFT payments costs $6.11 each. A SaaS finance team should specify the collection route on invoices before comparing international business transfers solely through outgoing FX charges (Wise receiving fees).

Wise says transfer pricing depends on amount, funding method and currency, and publishes monthly volume discounts after $25,000. The page reviewed does not disclose a single discounted rate for every currency pair, so obtain a quote for the actual monthly pattern (Wise payment fees).

For wider treasury planning, see Fed December 2026 hike risk. Keep that financing assessment separate from the provider comparison: an account's payment charges and a company's borrowing assumptions need distinct budget lines.

Licensing and Safeguarding Need an Entity Check

MAS lists Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. as a Major Payment Institution, with account issuance, domestic and cross-border transfers, merchant acquisition and e-money issuance services. Its directory explains that major payment institutions must meet requirements to protect customer money. This establishes the Singapore entity's listed status; it does not establish protection for a US account (MAS directory).

MAS also names Wise Asia-Pacific and Revolut Technologies Singapore among major payment institutions on its anti-scam page. That listing is not proof that a particular business product is available to every Singapore applicant (MAS).

For UK arrangements, the FCA explains that money held with non-bank payment providers lacks Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection. E-money institutions and authorised payment institutions instead safeguard funds through segregation, insurance or a comparable guarantee. Recovery after a failure can take time and may involve deductions. Check the entity and account contract before applying this rule to a brand (FCA guidance).

Australian firms can pair this review with Australian lending data after the RBA rate rise when preparing funding budgets. Before opening an account, obtain the Australian agreement and fee schedule rather than carrying US prices into an AUD forecast.

Choose Against Volume, Currency Pairs and Team Size

Revolut's plan page includes a set number of international transfers on Grow, then charges per transfer outside the allowance, with SWIFT OUR charges separate, and a higher FX charge outside market hours. Include payment count and execution time in any comparison (Revolut plan comparison).

Choose Wise when its actual corridor quote and collection routes produce the lowest total for irregular flows. Shortlist Airwallex Explore when avoiding a subscription matters, then add its route charges. Consider Airwallex Grow when approval workflows justify its user costs: ten billable Spend users imply $120 monthly before the undisclosed platform fee, while Explore includes up to ten free Spend users (Airwallex pricing).

Choose Revolut Grow when predictable volume fits its allowances and its payment terms suit your counterparties. Across multi-currency business accounts, the defensible procurement decision is the lowest verified cost for your currency pairs, payment count and required controls, backed by an acceptable customer-fund arrangement. Request that complete calculation before committing.