Foreign Exchange (FX) fees
Airwallex manages FX whenever the shopper currency differs from your settlement currency.
You may see multiple FX-related fees such as Airwallex FX conversion fee, foreign currency settlement fee, refund FX markup, and shopper-side FX, as outlined in your fee schedule.
FX details are available in Settlement report and Transaction reconciliation report.
Key terms and definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Transaction currency | The currency the shopper pays in at checkout, for example, USD. |
| Settlement currency | The currency Airwallex credits to your Wallet when settling funds to you, for example, USD, EUR. |
| Like-for-like settlement | Settlement where transaction and settlement currencies match, for example, both USD. No FX is applied. |
| Non-like-for-like settlement | Settlement where transaction and settlement currencies differ, for example, shopper pays in THB, Airwallex settles in SGD. FX conversion is applied. |
How FX works for payments
FX is applied across different transactions whenever the currency of one step in the payment lifecycle differs from the next.
| Transaction type | When FX applies |
|---|---|
| Payments | Shopper currency does not match settlement currency. When the shopper currency differs from your settlement currency, Airwallex converts using the payment method provider's FX rate plus your Airwallex FX markup. You see one blended FX rate in reports. |
| Fees | Fee currency does not match settlement currency. Some fees, for example, gateway or dispute fees, may be charged in another currency and then converted into your settlement currency at the current market FX rate. |
| Refunds | Refund currency does not match settlement currency. When you refund across currencies, Airwallex converts at the FX rate on the refund date and applies any refund FX markup. The refund amount in your currency can differ from the original settlement. |
| Disputes | Dispute currency does not match settlement currency. When schemes raise disputes in a different currency (often USD), Airwallex converts the dispute amount into your settlement currency at the FX rate on the dispute or reversal date. Dispute debits and credits can therefore differ from the original payment. |
| Splits and split reversals | Different legs of one payment are settled in different currencies under the Payments for Platforms model. When a payment is split into multiple legs (for example, USD 100 split as USD 90 to a seller and USD 10 to your platform) or later reversed, each leg can have its own FX conversion based on its currency and the rate at the time. |
FAQ
Why is my payment FX rate different from mid-market?
Airwallex uses scheme or provider rates, for example, Visa, Mastercard, plus an Airwallex FX markup to move funds from the shopper to your account. In some cases, Airwallex also uses Airwallex's internal FX engine rates together with the scheme or provider rate.
Public sources, for example, Google, XE, are indicative benchmarks only. They do not reflect the actual costs of settling commercial transactions.
Why is my settlement or refund in a different currency than I expected?
Airwallex follows your configured settlement currencies. If a shopper pays in a currency that is not supported for like-for-like settlement for your account and that payment method, Airwallex converts it into your default settlement currency or another configured settlement currency, based on your setup. For more information, see Settlements. To configure an additional settlement currency, contact your Airwallex Account Manager or Customer Support .
Why does a full refund not match the original payment amount in my currency?
Refunds are processed using the prevailing market FX rate on the day the refund occurs, plus a refund FX markup. Because the market moves between the purchase date and the refund date, the amount debited from your settlement balance may be higher or lower than the original payment.
In Automatic Currency Conversion, the shopper is always refunded in their original payment currency, and your shopper-facing price is fixed. FX movements between payment and refund sit with you rather than the shopper.
Why don't I see FX rates for some fees in my reports?
For some fees (interchange, scheme, or payment method fees), the FX impact is already included in the fee amount, so Airwallex does not show a separate FX rate.
For others (gateway, dispute, refund fees), Airwallex shows the FX rate used. See Transaction and fee types.
Why do FX behaviors differ between payment methods?
Different payment method providers (Visa, Mastercard, local methods) use different FX sources and rules when they settle funds to Airwallex. Airwallex then applies the same FX markup rules on top, so overall FX behaviour can differ by method.