Is Airwallex safe? A guide for Singapore businesses (2026)

Key Takeaways:

• Airwallex holds a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which is the same regulatory framework that governs all licensed payment providers in Singapore.

• Your funds are safeguarded with licensed financial institutions in accordance with MAS requirements, held separately from Airwallex's own operating capital.

• Airwallex is a legitimate platform used by thousands of Singapore businesses, and understanding how its compliance processes work helps you use it with confidence.

Is Airwallex safe? The short answer is yes — and we’ll tell you why in this article.

Airwallex is licensed and regulated in Singapore by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a Major Payment Institution. It holds your funds with licensed financial institutions, encrypts your data, and runs its security infrastructure to internationally certified standards.

This article covers how Airwallex is regulated in Singapore, how your money and data are protected, and what you need to know about compliance checks.

Is Airwallex a legitimate company?

Yes. Airwallex is a real, registered financial platform founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 2015. It has since grown into one of the world's largest fintech companies, serving 200,000+ customers¹.

In Singapore, Airwallex operates as Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. — a company incorporated under Singapore law with Unique Entity Number 201626561Z.

It holds a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, licence number PS20200541. You can verify this directly on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory at mas.gov.sg.

Airwallex has its global headquarters in Singapore alongside San Francisco. It grew its Singapore headcount by 62% in 2025, with the sharpest gains in its product, engineering, and design teams. Airwallex reported 107% revenue growth in Singapore for FY2025 — the second consecutive year of triple-digit growth.²

Singapore businesses across eCommerce, travel, and professional services use the platform, including Endowus, Love, Bonito, GlobalTix, Minor Hotels, HipVan, and Motherswork.

Airwallex is not a bank. It is a licensed Major Payment Institution — a distinct regulatory category under the Payment Services Act 2019, with its own obligations and protections. The next section explains what that means for your money.

Is Airwallex regulated in Singapore?

Yes. Airwallex is regulated in Singapore under the Payment Services Act 2019 (PSA), which is one of the most comprehensive payment regulation frameworks in Asia. Here is what that means:

What is a Major Payment Institution licence?

The PSA licenses payment service providers in Singapore across a tiered framework. A Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence is required for businesses that process payment transactions above a certain monthly threshold or hold significant customer funds.

To obtain and keep an MPI licence, Airwallex must meet ongoing MAS requirements across four areas: financial soundness, operational risk management, anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) controls, and customer fund safeguarding.

MAS monitors licensed entities on a continuing basis, not just at the point of application. If Airwallex failed to meet these standards, MAS has the authority to suspend or revoke its licence.

Airwallex holds MPI licence number PS20200541, which you can verify on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory.

How MAS protects your funds

One critical requirement under the PSA is safeguarding of customer funds. Airwallex must hold all customer funds in designated accounts with licensed financial institutions — separately from its own operating capital.

This means your money is not pooled with Airwallex's own funds. Even in a worst-case scenario where Airwallex faces financial difficulty, your funds would remain identifiable and separate from the company's assets.

On a daily basis, Airwallex reconciles all payment instructions to ensure transactions are processed correctly and account balances are calculated accurately. This reconciliation process is part of its regulatory obligations.

How does Airwallex keep your money safe?

Here are the main standards Airwallex holds, and what each one means for you in plain terms.

PCI DSS Level 1 certification

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Level 1 is the highest tier of certification for organisations that handle card payment data. It covers secure network architecture, strong access controls, encrypted data transmission, and regular security testing.

Airwallex is PCI DSS Level 1 certified³. If your business accepts card payments through Airwallex, your customers' card data is handled under the most stringent standards the card industry requires. This certification is audited by an external assessor; it cannot be self-declared.

For a full breakdown of what PCI DSS means for your business, see our guide to PCI DSS compliance.

SOC 2 Type II certification

SOC 2 Type II is an independently audited report on how a company handles security, availability, and data confidentiality over a sustained period of time. Unlike a one-off audit, it tests whether controls actually work consistently — not just whether they exist on paper.

Airwallex has held SOC 2 Type II certification since 2021. The reports are compiled by Ernst & Young and are available to customers through Airwallex's security portal at security.airwallex.com.³ This gives you a third-party verified view of how Airwallex's controls perform in practice.

Data encryption

All data sent to and from Airwallex is encrypted in transit using TLS v1.2 — the industry standard for secure data transmission. Data stored on Airwallex's servers is encrypted using AES-256, the same standard used by financial institutions and government agencies worldwide.³

This means that even if data were intercepted at any point, it would be unreadable without the correct decryption key. Airwallex also continuously tests its infrastructure using external security firms — through red team exercises, adversary simulations, and penetration testing — to identify and fix weaknesses before they can be exploited.

How does Airwallex protect your account?

Beyond certifications, Airwallex applies several security controls at the account level. These apply to every user, from the first login onwards.

Two-factor authentication (mandatory)

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is mandatory for every Airwallex account. It cannot be turned off. Each time you log in, you need your password and a one-time code sent to your registered device. This applies to everyone on your team, not just administrators.

If an employee's password is ever compromised, 2FA prevents an attacker from getting in. One practical note: Airwallex's support staff will never ask for your password or 2FA codes. If anyone claiming to be Airwallex asks for these, treat it as a phishing attempt and report it.

Real-time fraud detection

Every transaction processed through Airwallex passes through machine learning models trained on data from across the platform. These models detect and flag suspicious patterns in under half a second³, before a fraudulent payment is completed.

For card transactions, Airwallex uses 3D Secure authentication to verify that the genuine cardholder is making the purchase. A dedicated global security team monitors alerts around the clock, every day of the year. If suspicious activity is identified, Airwallex initiates an investigation and notifies the account holder.

Independent security testing

Before any new product or feature reaches customers, it goes through a series of internal security tests and reviews. Airwallex also regularly commissions external security firms to run realistic attack simulations, including red team exercises, adversary simulations, and penetration testing.

On top of this, Airwallex proactively scans the internet for phishing sites and fraudulent pages targeting its customers, and works with providers like Google Cloud Platform and Cloudflare to have them removed.

What about account freezes and compliance checks?

One of the most common questions about any fintech platform is why an account or transaction might be temporarily restricted.

There are several possible reasons for this, including security concerns, suspected fraud, technical issues, or regulatory compliance checks.

Compliance reviews are a normal part of how regulated financial institutions operate, but they're often less familiar to businesses than other types of account restrictions. Here's what happens during a compliance review, and why.

Why compliance checks happen

Airwallex, like every MAS-licensed payment institution in Singapore, is legally required to conduct anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) checks. These are obligations under the Payment Services Act 2019 and MAS Notice PSN02 on Prevention of Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.

In practice, this means Airwallex's systems monitor transactions for patterns that fall outside normal parameters.

A check may be triggered by a number of things: a large or unusual inbound transfer, a payment from a new jurisdiction, a sudden change in transaction volume, or activity that doesn't match the business profile on file.

In most cases, this is not a sign that your account is in trouble. It is the platform doing exactly what a regulated financial institution is required to do.

Traditional banks carry out the same checks: the difference is that a bank branch manager might call you directly, while a fintech platform will typically send an email or in-app notification.

What to expect if your account is reviewed

If your account is flagged, you will typically be asked to provide supporting documentation. This might include invoices, purchase orders, contracts, or information about the counterparties involved in a transaction.

Airwallex may place a temporary restriction on transactions while the review is underway. Response times vary. Simpler cases are resolved quickly. More complex situations — especially those involving international counterparties or high transaction values — can take longer.

If you are on a standard plan, your main support channel is email and in-app messaging. Businesses on higher-tier plans have access to a dedicated account manager, which can make escalation faster.

How to reduce the risk of disruption

A few practical steps make a real difference:

• Keep your account documentation current — business registration, UEN, and ownership structure.

• When you expect an unusual or high-value payment, notify Airwallex in advance and have the supporting documents ready before the funds arrive.

• Respond to compliance requests quickly. Delays on your side extend the review period.

• Read the notifications Airwallex sends. Account reviews are flagged by email and in-app — acting on them early is the single most effective way to reduce downtime.

Is Airwallex safe for Singapore businesses?

Airwallex is MAS-licensed, fund-safeguarded, and independently certified, and it’s definitely safe for Singapore businesses.

That trust extends to some of Singapore's most compliance-conscious companies, such as Endowus. Endowus is a MAS-licensed wealth management platform serving more than 200,000 individuals, corporates, and family offices across Asia.

As a regulated financial firm, Endowus applies rigorous standards when choosing financial partners — and chose Airwallex to manage its cross-border payments and multi-market financial operations.

As Dominic Ong, CFO of Endowus, puts it: "Airwallex's global licences and presence in multiple countries provide the scalability we need. As we expanded to Hong Kong and Malaysia, we could have an Airwallex Global Account in each country for payments and then track our transactions across multiple entities."

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is Airwallex a bank?

No. Airwallex is a licensed payment institution, not a bank. In Singapore, it holds a Major Payment Institution licence issued by MAS under the Payment Services Act 2019. This means it is authorised to provide payment services and hold customer funds — but it does not offer deposits, loans, or the full suite of products a bank provides.

Is Airwallex safe to send money internationally?

Yes. Every transfer is monitored in real time by Airwallex's fraud detection system, which flags unusual activity in under half a second. Your account is protected by mandatory two-factor authentication, and all payment data is encrypted in transit.

How do I know my funds are actually protected with Airwallex?

Under MAS safeguarding requirements, Airwallex holds all customer funds in designated accounts with licensed financial institutions, completely separate from its own operating capital. Airwallex also reconciles all payment instructions daily to ensure balances are accurate.

Is Airwallex MAS regulated?

Yes. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. holds MAS licence number PS20200541, issued under the Payment Services Act 2019. You can verify this on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory at mas.gov.sg.

Why did Airwallex restrict my account?

Account restrictions typically happen when a transaction triggers an automated compliance check under AML or CFT obligations. This is a legal requirement for all MAS-licensed payment institutions — not unique to Airwallex. In most cases, you can resolve it quickly by responding to the documentation request from Airwallex's compliance team.

Sources:

1. https://www.airwallex.com/sg/who-we-are

2. https://www.airwallex.com/global/newsroom/airwallex-delivers-triple-digit-revenue-growth-in-singapore-for-a-second

3. https://www.airwallex.com/global/blog/is-airwallex-safe