What is an Airwallex Global Account?

An Airwallex Global Account empowers your business to enhance its financial operations on the international stage. It’s a modern alternative to a traditional business bank account, giving you the ability to open domestic and foreign currency accounts in minutes – no need to visit a bank branch or set up a local entity.

You can skip the red tape, bank lines, and excessive paperwork by opening foreign currency accounts in the US, UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and more – right from your desk in Canada.

The Airwallex Global Account is an innovative financial solution that lets you collect payments from international customers in their local currency, helping you unlock new global revenue opportunities. You can then hold and spend those funds in the same currency, avoiding unnecessary conversion fees, high transaction costs, and manual processes.

If you need to convert foreign currencies into CAD (or vice versa), you'll benefit from Airwallex’s competitive, market-leading exchange rates.

The Global Account integrates seamlessly with platforms like eBay and Shopify, helping you collect payments in local currencies without unnecessary conversions. You can also integrate with Xero and other Canadian-friendly tools, such as QuickBooks, alleviating the need for tedious and time-consuming data entry.

How is an Airwallex Global Account different from a foreign currency bank account? 

Global business accounts and foreign currency accounts work similarly. The Airwallex Global Account is built to simplify multi-currency management and reduce the costs typically associated with traditional financial providers.

Banks, for example, may request that you make an in-branch appointment before opening a foreign currency account. It may take anywhere from five days to four weeks for the bank to process your application and activate your account. If you operate in multiple currencies, you will need to open separate bank accounts for each currency, resulting in a fragmented financial experience and increased administrative burden for your team.

The benefit of an Airwallex global business account is that you can open foreign currency accounts online with just a click, eliminating the need to visit a branch in person. Our accounts come with local bank details, allowing you to receive, hold, and send multiple currencies without being subject to FX fees. We also don't charge account fees or transaction fees.

Airwallex allows you to manage all your funds in one place. You can view your multi-currency balances from a single interface, spend in multiple currencies with your Corporate Cards, transfer funds to suppliers and employees around the world, and view all transaction data in one platform.

Airwallex provides a streamlined and efficient way to establish a local financial presence for your business in a specific region, often without the need to open a physical entity.

Why is the ability to open a global account in different locations significant? 

Opening an Airwallex Global Account provides you with all the inherent benefits of a digital business account, along with purpose-designed features tailored for a global scale, including no signup fees and zero monthly fees. It’s an innovative fintech solution designed to help your business operate seamlessly across countries.

With Global Accounts in key markets, your business can reduce FX fees, speed up settlements, and operate more efficiently across borders.

How Canadian businesses save time and reduce FX costs with Airwallex

Flightpath – Ontario-based private jet charter

Flightpath uses Airwallex Business Accounts, Spend, and Platform APIs to manage complex financial operations between its Canadian and US entities.

• Payments that once took days now settle in near real time

• FX costs are significantly reduced

• The finance team saves over four hours per week in manual work

By consolidating currencies and vendors in one platform, Flightpath eliminated wire delays and manual reconciliation.

RYSE – Smart Shades Manufacturer, Toronto

Toronto-based RYSE required a solution for handling CAD and USD transactions across borders without incurring excessive fees or friction.

• Instant transfers between US and Canadian entities

• No batch‑payment fees

• Over C$25,000 saved annually in FX costs

What is the pricing of an Airwallex Global Account?

With no monthly fees when opting for our Explore plan, no card fees, and only a small margin on top of our interbank FX rates, our competitive, transparent, and straightforward pricing is a win for your business.

What does an international payment cost with the Airwallex Global Account?

Sending money to countries in their local currency incurs 0% international transaction fees with our local payment technology. We only charge a small margin on FX when you exchange currencies. 

To send non-local currencies overseas (e.g., CAD or USD to Hong Kong), we can still assist; however, we will need to charge an additional payment fee to cover the costs of using the SWIFT network.

Unlock new levels of expansion for your business

As your business expands, Airwallex is here to support you. Global Accounts are designed to make it as easy as possible to send and receive foreign currencies.

Whether you’re selling to international customers, paying global vendors, or expanding into new markets from Canada, Airwallex helps you move faster and smarter.

So, if you’re looking for a simple and efficient way to do business around the world, sign up for free today and streamline your international finance operations – all from Canada.