Get started with payments

Use this guide as your pathway from enabling Payments to processing your first successful test payment and understanding your next steps.

Confirm you're ready to accept payments

Before you choose an integration, make sure your account is ready to accept payments. This is required regardless of the integration you choose.

Activate Payments

Log in to the Airwallex web app and navigate to Payments. Provide information to set up Payments for your account, including business details, payment solution selection, and payment method activation.

Once your Payments application is approved, go to Payments > Payment methods in the web app and verify that the card schemes and local payment methods you need for your markets are activated. For detailed steps, see Activate payment methods.

Configure settlement currencies

Decide which principal settlement currencies you want to receive funds in to avoid unnecessary FX costs. The more Airwallex balance currencies you enable, the more “like‑for‑like” settlements you can configure, for example, settling EUR card payments into your EUR balance instead of converting to USD.

Out of these, you’ll also choose a fallback settlement currency. This currency is used to settle all other processing currencies that Airwallex can’t settle like‑for‑like; FX conversion will occur in those cases. We recommend using a major tradeable currency (for example USD, EUR, GBP) as your fallback to reduce costs.

For more details on how settlement works across your balances, see Settle into your Airwallex balance.

Understand reserve plan and risk

Airwallex may apply a reserve plan based on your risk profile and industry. This is a temporary hold on some funds to cover potential disputes and refunds and doesn't stop you from accepting payments. Review your active reserve plan and settlement timings under Payments > Settings tab in the web app.

Work with your account team to understand how and when funds are released, expected dispute and refund levels, and any risk rules or velocity limits. For details, see Reserve plans and Risk management.

Choose the right PCI profile

To accept card payments, you must be PCI DSS compliant. The specific PCI requirements depend on the integration method you choose, and you will need to present evidence of compliance during the payments onboarding process. See Online payments overview for details on PCI requirements for various integration options.

Note that PCI requirements do not apply to local payment methods, but to card payments only. If you’re unfamiliar with PCI DSS certifications, visit the PCI Security Standards Council website or see PCI DSS FAQ .

Review fees and pricing models

Understand how transaction pricing is calculated based on the following fees:

• Gateway fee for Airwallex platform and routing
• Payment-method fee (per scheme or payment method)
• Fraud and 3D Secure authentication (3DS) fees when applicable
• FX fees for cross-currency processing with ACC (Automatic Currency Conversion) or MCP (Multi-currency Pricing)

Confirm with your Airwallex Account Manager whether you're on interchange++ or blended pricing, and how that appears in your reports. See Fees and pricing models.

Set up sandbox, API keys, and webhooks

Build and test in the sandbox environment and switch to separate production credentials when you're ready to go live.

Generate API keys from Settings > Developer > API keys tab in the web app. Authenticate from your server using your Client ID and API key to generate an access token before calling Payments APIs. For more information, see Manage API keys.

Configure webhooks for key Payments events (payment_intent.succeeded, payment_intent.failed, and more) so your systems stay in sync even if customers close the browser. For more information, see Listen for webhook events.

Decide how your customers will pay

Your operating model describes how customers pay for your products or services. Choose the model that best matches your business to narrow your integration options:

• Online checkout (web or in-app): Customers place orders and check out on your website or mobile app. Typical for ecommerce, SaaS, and digital content providers. Options: Online Payments, Payment Links, or Subscriptions.

• Invoices or custom order links: You send payment links or invoices via email, chat, or offline and customers pay later. Typical for B2B services, agencies, and professional services. Options: Payment Links or Invoice integrations.

• Subscriptions or recurring billing: You charge customers repeatedly on a schedule or based on usage. Typical for SaaS, memberships, and usage-based products. See Billing Subscriptions.

• In-person and omnichannel: You accept payments at physical locations and online. Typical for retail, F&B, and hybrid experiences. Combine online payments with in-person solutions as they become available in your region.

For detailed information about each operating model, see Choose your payments solution.

Choose your integration path

Once you know your operating model, choose the integration path that fits your engineering capacity, PCI scope, and desired level of control:

• No-code / low-code: Go live fast with zero or minimal integration effort. Options: Payment Links (web app or API), Invoice integrations, or E-commerce plugins (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, SHOPLINE, and more).

• Web checkout (hosted or embedded): Own your site but let Airwallex handle sensitive payment input. Options: Hosted Payment Page for minimal frontend code and strongest PCI offload, Drop-in Element for a full multi-method checkout UI, or Embedded Elements for more layout control.

• Fully custom and mobile: For maximum control over UX, flows, or business logic, choose Mobile SDK (iOS/Android) for native integration with pre-built views, or Native API for custom UI with direct API calls.

For a detailed comparison of integration options, see Online payments overview.

Build your first test payment

Once your account is enabled and you've chosen an integration path, you're ready to process a test payment. The Quickstart: Your first online payment walks you through creating a PaymentIntent on your server, building a checkout page that redirects to Airwallex-hosted payment page, and completing a test payment in the sandbox.

Plan your path to production

After your first test payment succeeds, you're ready to update your integration for live traffic.

• Implement error handling and retries: Handle common decline and error codes gracefully, and implement idempotency on your backend to avoid duplicate charges.
• Validate risk and regulatory compliance flows: Confirm how 3D Secure authentication (3DS) behaves with your card flows and markets and test both frictionless and challenged scenarios in sandbox.
• Follow the Test and go-live checklist to ensure you have:
  • The correct production credentials
  • Webhooks configured and verified
  • Refunds and dispute processes defined
  • Reporting and reconciliation flows tested

Once you've completed the checklist, switch your integration to production credentials, monitor early traffic closely, and consider optimizing acceptance rates, FX, and operating costs over time.