Wallets and funds flow
Understand how multi-currency wallets work, how money enters and moves through the platform–connected account structure, and the mechanisms that control those flows.
Every connected account has a wallet—a multi-currency store of funds used to hold, convert, receive, and send money. Understanding how wallets work and how money flows through the system is fundamental to designing any platform that uses connected accounts. The funds flow model determines how you structure financial operations, how you pay your customers, how you collect fees, and how you think about real-time fund positioning.
Platform and connected account wallets
Both your platform account and each connected account hold funds in wallets. These are distinct stores of value within the Airwallex system.
Your platform wallet is where your platform's operating funds reside. When you initiate a Connected Account (CA) Transfer—distributing proceeds to a seller, for example—the funds are debited from your platform wallet. When you initiate a Charge—collecting a fee from a connected account—the funds are credited to your platform wallet.
Each connected account wallet holds funds belonging to that specific account. When a connected account receives a distribution from your platform, the balance appears in its wallet. When the account converts currencies or receives a payout from an external source via Global Accounts, the wallet balances update accordingly.
A single account can hold balances in multiple currencies simultaneously. Each currency is tracked as a separate wallet balance. There is no single aggregated total across currencies—your USD balance and EUR balance are distinct and managed independently.
How funds enter the Airwallex system
Funds enter connected account wallets in three ways.
CA Transfers move funds from your platform wallet into a connected account's wallet. Use CA Transfers to distribute proceeds after a transaction—for example, crediting a seller's balance after a marketplace sale completes, or paying out a commission to a service provider.
Global Accounts allow connected accounts to receive funds directly from external payers, without funds routing through the platform's wallet first. When a connected account has Global Accounts enabled, Airwallex assigns it local bank account numbers in supported jurisdictions. A payer in Germany can send a EUR payment using local SEPA rails directly to the connected account's account number, and the funds arrive in that account's EUR wallet balance in the account holder's name. See Accounts for details on setting up and managing Global Accounts.
Linked Account top-ups allow a connected account holder to directly debit funds from a linked external bank account into their connected account wallet. See Accounts for details.
How funds move within the Airwallex system
Once funds are inside the system, two mechanisms move them between your platform wallet and connected account wallets.
CA Transfers (platform → connected account): Transfer funds from your platform wallet to a connected account's wallet. Common uses include distributing proceeds, paying commissions, and funding refunds.
Charges (connected account → platform): Debit funds from a connected account's wallet and credit them to your platform wallet. Common uses include collecting service fees, deducting platform commissions, and processing loan repayments.
| Operation | Mechanism | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Distribute proceeds or pay a commission | CA Transfer | Platform wallet → Connected account wallet |
| Collect a platform fee | Charge | Connected account wallet → Platform wallet |
| Convert currencies within an account | Conversion | Within connected account wallet |
Conversions can be executed within a connected account's wallet to exchange one currency for another—for example, converting USD to EUR before a connected account makes a payout to a European bank. Conversions are performed using the Conversions API on behalf of the connected account via the x-on-behalf-of header.
How funds leave the Airwallex system
Funds leave the Airwallex system when a connected account makes an outbound payment to an external bank account. Platforms trigger this on behalf of connected accounts using the Transfers API with the x-on-behalf-of header. The connected account's wallet is debited and the funds are sent to a beneficiary via local clearing systems or SWIFT.
The platform does not need to pass funds back through its own wallet for outbound payments from connected accounts. The transfer is initiated directly from the connected account's wallet. Settlement times vary by destination currency and payment method. See Payouts for details on supported payout methods, rails, and settlement times.
Settlement speed
CA Transfers and Charges move funds between wallets within the Airwallex system and settle rapidly—the movement is a ledger entry between two accounts on the same infrastructure, with no external clearing system involved.
The x-on-behalf-of mechanism
All API operations that affect a connected account's wallet—conversions, outbound transfers, Global Account creation, and others—are performed using the x-on-behalf-of header, which specifies the connected account's ID. This authorizes Airwallex to apply the operation to that account's wallet under your platform's API credentials.
This mechanism means that while Airwallex's API has a single authenticated principal (your platform), individual wallet operations are cleanly attributed to the correct connected account. See Platform relationships for more on how this works within the broader three-tier structure.