Airwallex vs PingPong Malaysia: Fees & features (2026)

Key Takeaways:

• PingPong is a cross-border payments platform that received its Money Services Business Licence from Bank Negara Malaysia in 2025. It is built primarily for enterprises and platforms that need API-based payment infrastructure.

• PingPong does not publish its pricing online. You need to contact their sales team to get fees. Airwallex publishes its full fee schedule upfront.

• Airwallex gives Malaysian businesses multi-currency accounts in 20+ currencies, free transfers via local rails, corporate cards, expense management, and a payment gateway supporting DuitNow, FPX, and GrabPay — all in one platform with no monthly fee.

It's worth comparing Airwallex vs PingPong if you're a Malaysian business exploring cross-border payment platforms. Both were founded in 2015, and both now hold licences from Bank Negara Malaysia. But they are built for very different types of users.

This guide compares both platforms on what matters most to Malaysian businesses: fees, features, regulatory standing, and day-to-day usability.

What is PingPong?

PingPong is a cross-border payments platform founded in New York in 2015. It was built to help businesses send, receive, and manage money across borders, primarily through API integration rather than a self-serve dashboard.

Today, it operates across 200+ countries and regions, with 35+ offices in 15 countries and 1,500 employees. It has processed over US$300 billion in cumulative transaction volume and holds 60+ financial licences globally.¹

PingPong received its Money Services Business Licence Class B from Bank Negara Malaysia in 2025.² It has since partnered with CIMB to integrate cross-border payment capabilities with CIMB's banking infrastructure across ASEAN.

The platform is designed for enterprises, financial institutions, and software companies that need to embed payment infrastructure into their own systems. It is API-first — built to be integrated, not used as a standalone business account.

What is Airwallex?

Airwallex is a global financial platform that covers cross-border payments, multi-currency accounts, corporate cards, expense management, and online payment acceptance in one place.

It holds three separate licences from Bank Negara Malaysia — covering remittance, e-money issuance, and merchant acquiring — giving it one of the broadest regulatory footprints of any non-bank financial platform in Malaysia.

For Malaysian businesses, this means you can open Global Accounts in 20+ currencies, make free transfers via local rails, convert currencies from 0.4% above interbank rates, and accept payments through 160+ local payment methods — including DuitNow, FPX, and GrabPay.

The platform is built for self-serve use. You can sign up online, see pricing before you commit, and start transacting within days.

Airwallex vs PingPong: Feature comparison

Here's a side-by-side overview of how both platforms compare across the features most relevant to Malaysian businesses.

Information in this table is accurate as of 13 April 2026.

 To learn more about PingPong, read our PingPong review.

Fees and pricing

Fees and pricing is where the two platforms differ most.

PingPong

PingPong does not publish its pricing online. There is no pricing page on its website. To find out what PingPong would cost your business, you need to contact their team directly.

Pricing appears to be customised based on your business type, transaction volume, and the services you need. That model makes sense for enterprise clients negotiating large-volume contracts, but it creates a barrier for smaller Malaysian businesses that want to compare costs quickly.

Airwallex

Airwallex publishes its full fee schedule on its pricing page. Here's what Malaysian businesses pay:

• International transfers: Free via local rails (which account for 94% of transactions via Airwallex). RM30–90 per SWIFT transfer.

• FX conversions: 0.4% to 0.6% above interbank, saving you up to 80% on FX fees.

• Domestic card payments: 1.90% + RM0.50 (+1% for international cards).

• Local payment methods (DuitNow, FPX, GrabPay): From 1.4% + RM0.50.

• Monthly fee: Free

• Account setup: Free

With Airwallex, there are no hidden charges. What you see on the pricing page is what you pay. For a finance team budgeting for cross-border costs, that transparency makes planning simpler.

Multi-currency accounts

Both platforms let you hold foreign currencies in a digital account, so you're not forced to convert every time money comes in. But the way each platform handles these accounts is different.

PingPong

PingPong offers local accounts in 23 currencies.¹ You can use these to collect payments from customers, marketplaces, and business partners worldwide. The platform also supports holding and converting 30 currencies with more than 400 currency crosses.¹

For Malaysian businesses collecting from markets like the US, EU, or China, this means you can receive funds in the payer's local currency without routing everything through an international wire.

That said, PingPong's accounts are designed to be accessed through API integration rather than a self-serve dashboard.¹ If you're a business that just wants to log in and manage your balances, the experience may feel less intuitive than a platform built for that purpose.

Airwallex

Airwallex lets you open Global Accounts in 20+ currencies — each with its own account number and local bank details. When a customer or marketplace pays you in USD, that money lands in your USD account without being converted. You hold it, spend it directly with a corporate card, or convert it on your terms.

For Malaysian businesses selling into multiple countries, this removes the double-conversion problem — where funds get converted to RM on arrival, then back to another currency when you pay a supplier.

Everything is managed from one dashboard. No API integration required to get started.

Transfers and currency coverage

Both platforms support transfers to 200+ countries, but the day-to-day experience of moving money differs.

PingPong

PingPong supports holding and converting 30 currencies with more than 400 currency crosses.¹ Payouts can be sent to 40+ currencies using local payment rails, and to bank accounts in 200+ countries via SWIFT.¹

For businesses managing ongoing currency exposure, PingPong also offers forwards and hedging strategies to lock in rates and reduce FX risk.¹ These are useful treasury tools, but they're aimed at larger businesses with significant cross-currency cash flows, not SMEs making occasional international payments.

PingPong doesn't publicly disclose transfer speed data. There's no stated benchmark for how quickly payments arrive.

Airwallex

Airwallex lets you send payments to 200+ countries. 45% of all transactions arrive instantly, and 93% arrive on the same day.

FX conversion is on-demand and self-serve: you convert when you want, at a rate you can see before you confirm. There's no need to negotiate with an account manager or lock in rates through a separate treasury tool.

Batch transfers support up to 1,000 recipients at once. For businesses managing large supplier networks or running payroll across multiple countries, that capacity matters.

Corporate cards and expense management

This is one of the clearest gaps between the two platforms.

PingPong

PingPong offers card issuance tied to multi-currency accounts, with controls over spend categories. But this feature is designed for enterprise use cases — for example, a platform issuing cards to vendors or partners as part of a larger integration.

There is no mention of employee expense management, receipt capture, approval workflows, or accounting software integrations on PingPong's website. If your team needs to track day-to-day spending, you'll need a separate tool for that.

Airwallex

Airwallex offers both company cards and employee cards — virtual and physical — with no international transaction fees and no card creation fee. Cards are multi-currency, so when your team pays in USD or EUR, the spend draws from your existing foreign currency balance. No conversion is forced at the point of purchase.

Expense management is built in. You can capture receipts, set approval workflows, and reconcile directly with Xero or QuickBooks — both of which connect to Airwallex for free.

Worth knowing: if your business currently uses a local bank card for overseas spending, you're likely paying a foreign transaction fee of around 1–2% on every purchase. Airwallex cards charge 0% on international transactions.

Payment gateway and online payments

If your business accepts payments from customers online, this section matters.

PingPong

PingPong offers acquiring solutions and supports accepting more than 200 local alternative payment methods.¹ It also provides a checkout product for online stores.³

However, these capabilities are primarily marketed to enterprise clients, marketplace platforms, and fintechs embedding payment acceptance into their own systems via API.¹ For a Malaysian SME that wants to plug a payment gateway into its Shopify or WooCommerce store, PingPong's setup is not designed for that use case.

Airwallex

Airwallex has a built-in payment gateway that supports 160+ local payment methods, including DuitNow, GrabPay, FPX, and major card networks. For Malaysian businesses selling to local customers, this means your checkout supports the payment methods your customers actually use.

For businesses selling internationally, payments can be accepted in 130+ currencies and settled like-for-like in 20+ currencies. USD from a US customer lands in your USD wallet without automatic conversion to RM.

Payment links are also available: you can generate a link, embed it in an invoice, or share it over WhatsApp or email without integrating a full checkout flow. You also get free plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, and other eCommerce platforms.

Regulatory standing in Malaysia

Both platforms are licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), but the scope of their licensing is different.

PingPong

PingPong holds a Money Services Business Licence Class B (Licence No: 00674), granted in 2025.² This licence covers remittance services — meaning PingPong can legally facilitate cross-border money transfers for businesses in Malaysia.

PingPong Payment Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. is the local entity, registered under business registration number 1541638-P. It is a member of the Malaysia Association Money Services Business (MAMSB).

This is a single-scope licence. It allows PingPong to operate remittance services, but it does not cover e-money issuance or merchant acquiring.

Airwallex

Airwallex holds four separate licences from BNM:

• A Class B Money Services Business licence (Licence No: 00743)

• A Class A licence

• An e-money issuing licence

• Merchant acquirer registration under the Financial Services Act 2013

This gives Airwallex one of the broadest regulatory footprints of any non-bank financial platform in Malaysia. In practice, it means Airwallex can do more than just move money across borders — it can issue stored-value accounts, process card payments, and accept local payment methods like DuitNow and FPX as a registered acquirer.

For Malaysian businesses, broader licensing means fewer third-party dependencies. You can collect payments, hold funds, convert currencies, and pay out — all within a single regulated platform.

Why Malaysian businesses choose Airwallex over PingPong

PingPong's global licensing footprint and enterprise infrastructure are impressive. If you're a marketplace platform, logistics operator, or fintech embedding cross-border payment rails via API, that matters. The CIMB partnership adds a local banking dimension that could become more relevant as it develops across ASEAN.

But for most Malaysian SMEs, the day-to-day reality looks different.

You need to see your fees before you commit. You need to accept payments from local customers, not just send money overseas. You need your team to spend in foreign currencies without paying 1–2% on every transaction. And you need all of that without stitching together three or four separate tools.

That's where Airwallex comes in.

You know your fees before you sign up

PingPong requires a sales conversation before you can find out what you'll pay. Airwallex publishes its full fee schedule online — transfers, FX, card payments, local payment methods.

You can get started without a sales process

PingPong's onboarding is designed for enterprise clients, with API integration that typically takes up to 50 days.¹ Airwallex lets you open an account online in minutes, with approval typically taking a few business days. No sales calls, no integration timeline — just sign up and start.

You can accept payments, not just send them

PingPong's acquiring solutions are built for enterprises embedding payment acceptance via API. Airwallex gives you a ready-to-use payment gateway with DuitNow, FPX, GrabPay, and 160+ other methods — plus free plugins for Shopify and WooCommerce.

Your team can spend without a separate card solution

PingPong's card issuance is designed for enterprise and platform use cases. Airwallex gives you company and employee cards with 0% international transaction fees, real-time spend tracking, and built-in expense management — no additional tools needed.

Your accounting integrates automatically

Airwallex connects to Xero, QuickBooks, Shopify, WooCommerce, and more — all free. PingPong's Malaysia site lists QuickBooks integration only.³

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is PingPong available in Malaysia?

Yes. PingPong holds a Money Services Business Licence Class B (Licence No: 00674) from Bank Negara Malaysia, granted in 2025.² This allows it to operate as a licensed remittance service provider in Malaysia. You can verify its licence directly on the BNM website.

How much does PingPong charge in Malaysia?

PingPong does not publish its fees online. There is no pricing page on its website.¹ To find out what it would cost your business, you need to contact their sales team directly. Pricing is customised based on your business type, transaction volume, and the services you need.

Is PingPong a bank?

No. PingPong is a payment platform, not a bank. It provides virtual accounts and cross-border payment infrastructure, but it does not hold a banking licence in any jurisdiction. Airwallex is also not a bank, but holds broader licensing in Malaysia — including e-money issuance and merchant acquirer registration — which allows it to offer a wider range of financial services.

Can I use PingPong to accept payments from customers in Malaysia?

PingPong offers acquiring solutions and supports over 200 alternative payment methods globally.¹ However, these capabilities are primarily designed for enterprise clients embedding payment acceptance via API. If you're a Malaysian SME looking for a ready-to-use payment gateway with DuitNow, FPX, or GrabPay support, Airwallex offers that out of the box with free Shopify and WooCommerce plugins.

What is the difference between Airwallex and PingPong?

The biggest difference is who each platform is built for. PingPong is an API-first platform designed for enterprises, financial institutions, and software companies that need to embed cross-border payment infrastructure into their systems. Airwallex is a self-serve financial platform built for day-to-day business use — you can sign up online, see your fees upfront, and access multi-currency accounts, corporate cards, expense management, and a payment gateway in one place.

Does PingPong have corporate cards in Malaysia?

PingPong offers card issuance globally, but this feature is primarily aimed at enterprise and platform use cases — such as issuing cards to vendors or partners via API.¹ Airwallex offers company and employee cards with 0% international transaction fees, real-time spend tracking, and built-in expense management as part of its standard Business Account.

Sources:

1. international.pingpongx.com

2. international.pingpongx.com/licensing-and-regulation/malaysia-licences

3. pingpongx.my

This publication does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice from Airwallex nor substitute seeking such advice, and makes no express or implied representations / warranties / guarantees regarding content accuracy, completeness, or currency. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Airwallex (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is licensed in Malaysia as a MSB Class B (remittance business only) licensee and is regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia (licence number 00318).