How connected accounts work
Understand what connected accounts are, how the platform model works, and how connected accounts underpin Embedded Finance use cases built on Airwallex.
Connected accounts are subaccounts that platforms create and manage for their customers through Airwallex. They are the foundation of Airwallex's Embedded Finance offering, enabling platforms to build financial services directly into their own products—without becoming a licensed financial institution themselves.
When a platform creates a connected account for a customer, that customer gets access to financial infrastructure: wallets to hold funds, local account numbers to receive money, the ability to convert currencies, and the ability to make payouts to banks worldwide. The platform orchestrates all of this through the Airwallex API, acting on behalf of connected accounts while Airwallex handles the underlying banking rails, regulatory compliance, and funds custody.
What a connected account is
A connected account is a customer account that exists under your platform's master Airwallex account. Think of it as a financial account provisioned in your customer's name, integrated into your platform's product, and powered by Airwallex's infrastructure.
Each connected account has:
- Its own wallet for holding funds in one or more currencies.
- An identity that has been verified through Airwallex's compliance process.
- Capabilities that your platform can activate, such as receiving inbound payments, making outbound payouts, or spending with a card.
- Its own transaction history and reporting.
Connected accounts are distinct from your platform's own Airwallex account. Your platform account is how you access Airwallex services. Connected accounts are how your customers access those services—through you.
The platform model
Connected accounts exist within a three-tier structure. Airwallex is the infrastructure layer. Your platform is the intermediary. Connected accounts are your customers' accounts.
As a platform, you:
- Create and manage accounts on behalf of your customers.
- Control what financial services each account can access.
- Call Airwallex APIs on behalf of connected accounts using the
x-on-behalf-ofheader. - Move funds between your platform wallet and connected account wallets.
- Collect fees from connected accounts or distribute funds to them.
Airwallex handles the regulatory, compliance, and banking infrastructure that makes all of this possible. Your customers interact with financial services through your platform's product—they may never need to know Airwallex is involved.
See Platform relationships for a detailed explanation of the three-tier model, including how funds move between each layer and where compliance responsibilities lie.
What connected accounts make possible
Connected accounts underpin three major Embedded Finance solutions:
Enable customers to collect funds globally, hold multi-currency balances, and make payouts. Connected accounts give each customer their own wallets and local account numbers.
Build fintech products—neobanks, wallet apps, and card programs. Connected accounts give each end user their own account with the full Airwallex capability set, including card issuing.
Enable marketplace sellers and service providers to accept payments. Connected accounts are required when those sellers are the Merchant of Record for their transactions.
See Connected accounts and Embedded Finance solutions for a full breakdown of when connected accounts are required or optional across each use case.