Stripe vs Airwallex: Which is the best payment solution for Dutch businesses in 2026?

Key takeaways 

• Stripe and Airwallex are both payment providers but differ in global coverage and the scope of features.

• Airwallex combines payments with multi-currency accounts, 160+ local payment methods, FX, and spend management, while Stripe focuses primarily on payment acceptance.

• Costs vary between the two: Stripe typically converts foreign currency at ~2–3% unless separate currency bank accounts are set up, while Airwallex supports like-for-like settlement in 14+ currencies with FX at interbank + ~0.5–1%.

If you’re a Dutch eCommerce or SaaS business comparing Stripe and Airwallex, you’re probably trying to find the answer to a common question: which platform will let me collect payments easily from around the world without charging unnecessarily high FX fees?

Sure, both platforms can get you paid. But, choose the wrong one, and you could see cash flow, reporting, and expansion become painful fast. 

In this guide, we’re going to compare the two, deep diving payment methods, multi-currency settlement, cross-border fees, payouts, and day-to-day complexity to help you choose the best fit in 2026.

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a well-established payment processor used by many Dutch businesses to accept online payments across Europe and beyond. Its biggest strength is flexibility: strong APIs, broad platform integrations, and support for a wide range of card payments and digital wallets.

The trade-off is typically operational. Businesses selling internationally can find Stripe’s approach to FX conversion and cross-border payouts expensive, and the risk filters cumbersome.

What is Airwallex?

Designed for businesses trading across borders, Airwallex is an end-to-end financial partner that combines online payment acceptance with multi-currency accounts, local rails, spend management, and treasury tools in one dashboard.

Used by 150,000 companies worldwide, Airwallex is known for reducing FX costs and operational admin as businesses scale.

Stripe vs Airwallex: Overview 

While Stripe and Airwallex are two of the most widely used payment platforms, they’re not the only options on the market. Check out our guide to the 5 best payment gateways for Dutch businesses if you’re still shopping around. 

Payment methods and checkout localisation for Dutch businesses

The number of carts your customers abandon every month is directly linked to the local payment experience you offer. They expect familiar, secure payment methods and clear pricing in their currency.

Domestically, this means offering iDEAL, card, and wallet options, while overseas it might mean WeChat Pay, PayMe, or Banconact. If you’re optimising checkout for Dutch customers, understanding how iDEAL works — and how it fits alongside cards and wallets — is essential.

Stripe coverage is sufficient for most domestic and EU-focused use cases, including major card networks, digital wallets, buy now, pay later (BNPL), SEPA-based payments, and iDEAL. 

But, Airwallex offers 160+ local payment methods compared to Stripe’s 100+, including strong support across Europe and Asia-Pacific. For Dutch businesses selling internationally, this means the same checkout can accommodate more local preferences without bolting on additional providers or workarounds.

FX, cross-border sales, and settlement implications

The cost of converting funds isn’t always obvious at the point of sale. Forced conversions, FX margins, and timing can all impact how much you’re charged throughout the transaction. The amount usually differs between Stripe and Airwallex.

Stripe

• You can settle like-for-like in some currencies, but only when you set up a corresponding currency bank account (for example, settle EUR payments into a separate EUR account).

• Otherwise, you’re forced to automatically convert any payments received in currencies that aren’t your home currency. 

• Fees are commonly 2-3%.

• As cross-border volume grows, these conversions can materially affect margins and forecasting.

Airwallex

• Airwallex’s multi-currency account means you don’t need to set up another bank account to hold, convert, or pay out in certain currencies.

• Like-for-like settlement in 14+ major currencies, including EUR, GBP, and USD, means you can time when to convert and get greater control over cash flow.

• FX conversion at interbank rates+0.5–1%.

If FX costs are your primary concern, Stripe may not be the right fit. Many Dutch businesses weigh up Wise vs Airwallex instead when it comes to international transfers and currency management.

Global expansion and vendor payments on each platform

If you’re scaling beyond your domestic market, you’ll want to ensure you’re paying for suppliers, contractors, and tools efficiently (avoiding extra banking admin or fees).

Stripe is primarily designed around inbound payments. While it supports global payouts in certain markets, the Netherlands isn’t one of them. Paying international vendors or contractors typically requires external bank transfers or third-party tools, which can get complicated and expensive as payout volume and geographic spread increase.

Airwallex supports outbound payments at scale. You can pay suppliers, contractors, and partners in 150 countries directly from your multi-currency account without routing funds through intermediary banks. Batch payments and local rails in 120+ countries mean fast, friction-free payments, even as volumes grow.

Developer and integration experience vs operational simplicity

Beyond features and fees, Stripe and Airwallex differ in how much responsibility they place on internal teams. If you don’t have in-house developers, your requirements will differ from those with technical skills.

APIs and customisation

Stripe

• Extensive, well-documented APIs designed for highly customised payment flows.

• Strong payment ecosystem for subscriptions, marketplaces, and embedded payments.

Airwallex

• APIs to support payments, FX, accounts, and payouts within the same platform.

• Programmatic accounts to offer your customers embedded wallets, accounts, and cards.

Product suite

Stripe

• Payments are the core product.

• Also offers billing, invoicing, POS, and embedded finance at an additional cost.

• Additional tools may be required as payment flows become more complex.

Airwallex

• Payments, multi-currency accounts, FX, cards, spend, and payouts are included in all Airwallex plans.

• No-code, low-code and, customisation integrations offered.

• A complete platform for managing all financial operations.

Onboarding speed 

Stripe

• Fast to launch for card payments and standard checkout use cases.

• More checks may be required as currencies, payout destinations, and reporting needs expand.

• Risk filters can flag legitimate merchants, leaving accounts frozen.

Airwallex

• Quick set up, but more compliance checks given depth of features. 

• Once live, currency management, payouts, and reporting are handled within the platform.

Stripe vs Airwallex comparison for Dutch businesses

Both Stripe and Airwallex support online payments at scale; the differences lie in how extensive features and coverage are.

Stripe

Pros

• Highly flexible, developer-friendly platform suited to complex and customised checkout flows.

• Acceptance in 135+ currencies and a recognised brand with support for cards, wallets, BNPL, SEPA, and 100+ local payment methods.

• Strong ecosystem and integrations across eCommerce and SaaS platforms.

Cons

• Like-for-like settlement is limited and typically requires separate foreign currency bank accounts.

• FX conversion fees sit around 2%+ when funds are converted on settlement.

• Limited additional features beyond payment acceptance.

• Fraud and risk controls can be rigid, with limited transparency when accounts are flagged.

Airwallex

With Airwallex, you don't need to worry about the cons. Our mission is to make international payments simple, secure, and affordable:

• Multi-currency accounts with like-for-like settlement in 20+ currencies without needing additional foreign currency bank accounts.

• Market-leading FX rates at interbank+0.5-1%.

• Global payouts to 150+ countries and local payment rails with 0% fees in 120+ countries.

• End-to-end financial partner covering payments, FX, treasury, and expense management.

Airwallex is the ideal choice for Dutch businesses with international ambitions

If your business is primarily Netherlands-based, and you’re looking to grow beyond a single market, you’ll need more than to accept payments reliably. The more you grow, the more important currency hygiene, margin leakage, cash flow, and simplicity become.

Airwallex was designed specifically for this purpose – to help ambitious businesses grow their revenue. With a larger breadth of features and global coverage, Airwallex offers a clearer path for growth with fewer forced conversions and fewer manual workarounds. You can serve more customers, launch in new markets fast, and get your operations up and running friction-free.

FAQs

What is like-for-like settlement?

Like-for-like settlement means funds are settled in the same currency your customer pays in. If a customer pays in USD, the money is received in USD without being automatically converted into another currency.

What are the key differences between Airwallex and Stripe?

The main distinction is scope. Stripe is primarily a payments platform, offering strong tools for building and customising checkout, billing, and payment flows. Airwallex combines payment acceptance with multi-currency accounts, FX, international transfers, corporate cards, and expense management.

Airwallex also has wider global coverage, with payment acceptance in 180+ countries compared with Stripe’s 135+, and like-for-like settlement across 14+ currencies without requiring separate foreign bank accounts. Stripe’s like-for-like options are more limited. 

How do Airwallex fees compare to Stripe fees?

For card payments, Airwallex typically charges 1.65% + a fixed fee for domestic cards and 3.4% + a fixed fee for international cards. Stripe’s standard pricing is slightly higher at 1.7% for domestic cards and 3.5% for international cards.

The larger difference is in FX – when payments are received in a foreign currency and settled into a domestic account, Stripe applies an additional FX conversion fee, commonly around 2%. With Airwallex, businesses can settle funds like-for-like in 14+ major currencies and choose when — or if — to convert them at a margin of 0.5-1%.

Who is better: Stripe vs Airwallex for international businesses?

Stripe is best known for its developer-led payment infrastructure, while Airwallex is built around moving money at scale.

For businesses with regular foreign currency inflows or overseas suppliers, Airwallex’s ability to settle and hold funds in multiple currencies — without opening separate bank accounts — often makes it easier to control costs and cash flow as international activity grows.