NAB vs Airwallex: Which is better for your business in 2026?

Key takeaways

• NAB vs Airwallex: Both known for their business products, but with key difference, with NAB serving businesses operating in Australia while Airwallex is able to support businesses with global operations.

• NAB offers a business transaction account and an attached business debit card, plus payment acceptance capabilities for an additional price. FX and savings accounts are also available. 

• Airwallex is an all-in-one financial platform offering Global Accounts, multi-currency Corporate Cards, a Yield account to earn returns, payment acceptance, FX & transfers, and more.

Small to medium-sized businesses operating in Australia often look to business banks such as NAB for their financial needs – so how do Australian-founded fintechs like Airwallex compare?

When looking at NAB vs Airwallex, you can look at what both offer and how much the features available will benefit your business. Are you an SME with global customers, teams or suppliers? Do you need to offer payments and want to increase conversion while reducing your fees? Or maybe you want a feature-packed business account to hold multiple currencies?

Let’s compare NAB vs Airwallex to see what’s available.

What is NAB? 

The National Australia Bank, otherwise known as NAB, is one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banks. They serve consumers and businesses and offer a range of banking products including accounts, loans, cards, payments, and FX.

NAB operates in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, and has over 7000 ATMs. NAB offers a number of business-focused products including business accounts, savings accounts, business cards, and payments.

What is Airwallex? 

Airwallex is an Aussie fintech, not a bank. Airwallex is an all-in-one financial platform designed to help businesses simplify financial operations and facilitate seamless international expansion. Airwallex offers a multi-currency Global Account that lets you open banking details to operate like a local, cross-border payments capabilities, Corporate Cards, a Yield account to grow funds, and competitive foreign exchange rates.

The core features of our platform include; 

• Multi-currency accounts to collect 70+ currencies, open local banking details in 21 currencies and pay out to 200+ currencies

• Payment solutions built for global eCommerce, letting you accept over 160+ local and international payment methods in over 130 currencies

• Multi-currency Corporate Cards for both team and individual expenses

• Integrations with popular business accounting, eCommerce, and marketing platforms

• Yield, our high-rate business saver, which helps you grow both AUD and USD balances with competitive returns

Compare NAB vs Airwallex across key business features

How do the two compare across core financial offerings for Australian SMEs?

NAB fees explained

NAB tends to offer its products as standalone offerings, meaning if you want to accept customer payments with NAB or want to apply for another type of account, it may come with a separate fee. Here are the charges you can expect.

• Business account. The NAB Business Account comes with a A$0 monthly fee unless you want branch access, in which case it will be $10/month.

• Card fees. You will be charged a fee of 3–4% for international transactions with the NAB Business Visa Debit Card. When accessing ATMs overseas, you will be charged a cash fee of A$4 per withdrawal, A$1 per enquiry, and a foreign currency transaction fee of 2% of the Australian dollar transaction amount.

• NAB online payment gateway. There is no setup fee, but you will pay a A$30 monthly fee. A merchant service fee of 1.40% and a transaction fee of A$0.25 applies.

• Money transfers and FX. NAB charges A$0 fee for international transfers when using NAB Connect. For certain payments, such as direct debit or BPAY, a A$0.25 fee applies. International payments without currency conversion come with a A$20 fee.

Airwallex fees explained

Airwallex offers three pricing tiers, under which you can access different levels of features. All Airwallex pricing tiers include its multi-currency Global Account, Corporate Cards, payment acceptance, Yield, FX and transfers, and online support. 

Here is an outline of our fees:

• Monthly fees: You can access our Explore tier for A$29/month, a fee you can avoid by depositing A$5,000 per month or holding a balance of A$10,000. Our mid-tier Grow is available for A$99/month.

• Yield: Yield is included with all Airwallex tiers. On the Explore tier, there is a 0.2% fee for instant withdrawals, which does not apply on higher tiers. 

• FX & transfers: You can make fast, local transfers to 120 countries and you can also access interbank FX rates for 0.5–1% FX rates. 

• Corporate Cards. Multi-currency cards are included in all tiers. You receive 10 company cards in the Explore tier (increasing to 50 in Grow) for shared team expenses as well as global issuing to 40 countries. You get two employee cards per account, with a A$15 fee per additional user per month. 

• Expense Management. Our advanced Expense Management features, which include Bill Pay, reimbursements, multi-layer approval flows, and subscription management, are included in our Grow tier. 

• Payment acceptance. You can accept domestic cards for 1.65% + A$0.30 and international cards for 3.40% + A$0.30. You can also benefit from like-for-like settlement with Airwallex, helping you avoid FX fees. 

Compare additional features between NAB and Airwallex

Business accounts

While local banks like NAB can't establish accounts for entities overseas, Airwallex can. Airwallex uniquely offers multi-currency accounts in 21 countries, allowing users to receive from 70 different currencies with no hidden fees. Airwallex also lets you access interbank rates at a low markup of 0.5%–1% per transaction and offers local transfers to 120 countries. The NAB Business Everyday Account does not let you hold funds in other currencies, meaning FX is charged across international transactions, and does not allow you to open local banking details. 

Cards

NAB’s Business Everyday Account comes with a single card for the account holder and doesn't offer employee cards. Airwallex allows business owners to empower their employees with physical or virtual cards to spend on company-related expenses. Airwallex’s Business Account offers the first two cards for free, with additional cards charged at $15/month. These cards have built-in Expense Management tools so that users can easily consolidate and track budgets and spending. 

Payment gateway

Airwallex’s Business Account offers extensive payment acceptance capabilities including with the Global Account, including custom payment links and no-code checkout solutions. NAB also offers payment acceptance but this comes for an additional A$30 a month charge. Airwallex’s payment tools are also multi-currency and offer like-for-like settlement, allowing you to avoid FX charges, while NAB only offers AUD payment acceptance capabilities. 

High-rate Saver

NAB offers a savings account that can be opened and linked to its business transaction account. With NAB’s Business Savings Account you can earn interest on AUD. Airwallex’s Business Account comes with Yield – a high-rate saver that allows customers to earn competitive rates of return in AUD and USD without the hassle of opening another account.

Why business owners choose Airwallex

NAB’s Business Everyday Account and Airwallex’s Business Account both offer ways for your business to manage money, send funds overseas and handle business expenses. However, Airwallex has the edge.

Designed for growing businesses, Airwallex goes beyond traditional bank offerings. Airwallex provides multi-currency accounts and the ability to accept 70+ currencies, employee cards with built-in Expense Management and integrations to Xero and Quickbooks. 

Airwallex also offers a high-rate saver called Yield to allow businesses’ idle funds to grow. Airwallex’s payment acceptance tools offer low to high-touch customisations and plugins for online payments.

Airwallex can help your business accelerate growth with its advanced financial platform.

Frequently asked questions about NAB international transfers

Does NAB charge fees for international transfers?

NAB charges $0 for transfers made online. The total cost includes a markup on the foreign exchange rate, though NAB doesn't publicly disclose the exact margin. NAB covers overseas bank fees on online transfers.

How much does NAB charge for a Business Account?

NAB charges A$10 per month for a business account if you want bank branch access, otherwise the monthly fee is A$0.

Which financial platform is better for global business – NAB or Airwallex?

For businesses expanding globally, Airwallex offers international products and features. You can open a Global Account and multi-currency cards, access FX, get local banking details in 21 countries, access interbank rates, and more.

How much can I transfer internationally with NAB?

The default daily limit for an international transfer via NAB Internet Banking or the NAB app is $5,000. You can increase this up to a maximum of $300,000 for Internet Banking and $20,000 for the app.

Sources 

1. https://www.nab.com.au/important-information/business/banking-fees-charges

2. https://www.nab.com.au/content/dam/nabrwd/documents/rates-and-fees/banking/nab-connect-fees-and-charges-schedule.pdf

3. https://www.nab.com.au/business/business-bank-accounts/transaction-accounts/no-monthly-fee-business-account

4. https://www.nab.com.au/business/payments-and-merchants/ecommerce-and-online-payments

The information in this article is based on our own online research. Airwallex was not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed annually. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [[email protected]]. This information doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. If you are a customer of Airwallex Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 487221) read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the Direct Services available here.

The Airwallex Yield Liquidity Fund (Yield) is issued by K2 Asset Management Limited (K2) (ABN 95 085 445 094, AFSL No 244393), a wholly owned subsidiary of K2 Asset Management Holdings Limited. This information doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Financial Services Guide (FSG) for Yield, available at www.airwallex.com.au/terms from Airwallex Capital Pty Ltd (ABN 37 609 653 312, AFSL No. 549026). All investments carry risk. *Target returns are net of fees as at 12 March 2025 (AEDT) and indicate past 7-day annualised returns of the relevant underlying JPMorgan Liquidity Funds.