Stripe vs Airwallex in Malaysia: Fees, features & comparison (2026)

Key Takeaways:

• Stripe charges 3% + RM1.00 per successful domestic card transaction in Malaysia, plus an extra 2% when currency conversion is required.¹ Airwallex charges 1.90% + RM0.50 for domestic cards, with local payment methods starting from 1.4% + RM0.50.

• Stripe is a developer-first payment gateway with strong APIs and eCommerce integrations.

• Airwallex is a broader financial platform that combines payment acceptance with multi-currency accounts, transfers, corporate cards, and expense management. It also gives you access to competitive FX rates that let you save up to 80% on FX fees.

Stripe vs Airwallex is one of the most common payment platform comparisons for Malaysian businesses — and for good reason. Both are globally trusted, both support online payments, and both can handle multi-currency transactions. But they're built for different purposes, and that difference has real cost implications.

This guide compares both platforms on fees, features, and suitability for Malaysian businesses, so you can decide which works better for your business.

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a payment technology company that lets businesses accept online payments from customers around the world. It supports card payments, digital wallets, bank transfers, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) options.

Stripe is available in 195 countries, supports 135+ currencies, and gives access to 100+ local payment methods. It's especially popular with developers because its application programming interface (API) documentation is detailed and its tools are highly customisable — businesses can build their own checkout flows, automate recurring billing, and connect Stripe to most major eCommerce platforms.

Worth knowing: Stripe charges no setup fees or monthly fees in Malaysia. You pay per transaction, which makes it straightforward to get started. However, fees stack quickly when international cards and currency conversion are involved — more on that in the fees section.

What is Airwallex?

Airwallex is a financial platform built for businesses that operate across borders. It offers online payment acceptance alongside a broader set of tools: multi-currency accounts, international transfers, foreign exchange (FX) management, corporate cards, and expense management — all in one platform.

In Malaysia, Airwallex is regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) as a licensed remittance business under the Money Services Business Act 2011 and a registered merchant acquirer under the Financial Services Act 2013.

Worth knowing: Airwallex is not just a payment gateway. If your business collects payments in multiple currencies, pays overseas suppliers, or manages employee spending across markets, Airwallex is designed to handle all of that in one place.

Stripe vs Airwallex: Features Compared

Both platforms can accept online payments, but their overall feature sets are quite different. Stripe is built around payment processing. Airwallex is built around the full range of things a business needs to manage money across borders.

Here’s a quick overview:

Payment methods and global coverage

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 9 April 2026.

Stripe covers more countries,¹ but Airwallex supports more local payment methods globally — including 20+ Asia-specific methods not available on Stripe.

For Malaysian businesses, both platforms support FPX and GrabPay. Airwallex additionally supports DuitNow and popular e-wallets like Touch 'n Go and Boost, which matter for conversion with local customers.

Multi-currency settlement

This is one of the most important differences for any business selling internationally.

When a customer pays you in USD, GBP, or any currency other than MYR, you have two options:

• Convert immediately to MYR (and pay an FX fee), or 

• Hold the foreign currency and use it later

The second option — called like-for-like settlement — saves you money if you also have expenses in that currency.

Airwallex supports like-for-like settlement across 20+ currencies, directly into a built-in multi-currency wallet. No separate bank accounts needed.

Stripe lists like-for-like settlement as a feature,¹ but it requires you to set up a separate bank account for each currency you want to settle in. That adds operational complexity and limits how many currencies you can practically manage.

Financial tools beyond payments

This is where the two platforms diverge most. Stripe is a payments company, and it doesn't do much beyond that. Airwallex is a financial platform, with payment acceptance, Global Accounts, international transfers, corporate cards, and expense management built in.

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 9 April 2026.

If your business only needs to accept online payments and pay out to one local bank account, Stripe covers that well.

But if you also need to pay overseas suppliers, manage employee spending, hold foreign currencies, or handle international transfers — you'd need separate tools alongside Stripe. Airwallex handles all of this in one place.

Developer tools and integrations

Stripe's developer experience is genuinely strong. Its API documentation is detailed, its libraries cover most programming languages, and it offers a test environment that makes building and debugging payment flows straightforward.¹ For developer-led teams building custom payment systems or subscription products, Stripe is a well-established choice.

Airwallex also offers APIs, plugins, and no-code options — including ready-made plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. The integration experience is less customisable than Stripe's at the technical level, but for most businesses it covers what they need without requiring developer resources.

Customer support

Stripe offers phone, chat, and email support 24/7, plus community support via Discord.¹ Airwallex provides onboarding support and account management for Malaysian businesses, with a local team available to help you get set up and resolve issues.

Stripe vs Airwallex: Fees in Malaysia

Stripe and Airwallex both charge no setup fees and no monthly fees — but their per-transaction rates, local payment method costs, and foreign exchange (FX) charges are quite different.

Payment processing fees

Here's how the core card processing fees compare for Malaysian accounts:

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 9 April 2026.

The gap on domestic cards is clear: Stripe's percentage rate and fixed fee are both higher than Airwallex. On a RM500 transaction, you’d pay RM16 with Stripe versus RM10 with Airwallex.

The bigger difference shows up with international transactions: Stripe applies an extra 2% on top of its base rate whenever currency conversion is required.¹ If you're a Malaysian business collecting USD from US customers and converting to MYR, that 2% applies to every transaction.

With Airwallex, you can avoid that fee entirely by settling in the same currency your customer pays in across 20+ currencies. We’ll share a specific example with calculations in the “Transfers and FX fees” section.

Local payment method fees

Malaysian shoppers don't pay only by card. FPX, DuitNow, GrabPay, and e-wallets like Touch 'n Go and Boost are all common at checkout. Here's how the two platforms compare on local payment method fees:

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 9 April 2026.

Airwallex's local payment method fees start at 1.4% + RM0.50, which is meaningfully lower than Stripe's published rates for FPX and GrabPay.

Transfer and FX fees

As we mentioned earlier, Stripe is a payment gateway, and it doesn’t offer transfers like Airwallex does.

Here’s a quick overview:

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 9 April 2026.

If you regularly pay overseas suppliers, Airwallex lets you hold those currencies in your account and pay out directly, without converting to MYR and back again. Stripe doesn't offer this: every cross-currency payment with it incurs a 2% conversion fee.¹

Say your Malaysian business collects US$10,000 from a US customer, then needs to pay a US supplier that same amount.

With Stripe, here’s what you’ll pay:

With Airwallex, you don’t need to pay any fees:

• You collect the US$10,000 into your USD wallet without any conversions.

• With your USD balance, you pay your US supplier directly.

Why Malaysian businesses choose Airwallex over Stripe

For Malaysian businesses that sell beyond the local market, the case for Airwallex comes down to one thing: cost control across currencies.

Stripe works well when most of your customers pay in MYR and your operations are largely domestic. But once you start collecting in USD, paying a supplier in CNY, or running a team with expenses across multiple markets, the fees and complexity of a payment-only gateway start to add up.

Airwallex is designed for exactly that situation — it brings payment acceptance, currency management, international transfers, and expense tracking into one platform, so you're not patching together multiple tools or absorbing unnecessary conversion costs.

Applecrumby, a Malaysian baby care brand selling across Asia, is a good example of what that looks like in practice. After switching to Airwallex, the brand reduced its payment gateway fees by 0.5%, saving around RM100 on every international transaction.

Beyond payment fees, Airwallex also lets you:

• Open Global Accounts in 20+ currencies without setting up overseas entities or managing multiple banking relationships

• Hold foreign currency balances and pay overseas suppliers directly

• Convert currencies at competitive rates, saving you up to 80% on FX fees

• Send international transfers to 200+ countries

• Issue corporate and employee cards for multi-currency spending

• Track and manage employee expenses in one place

Frequently asked questions

What is the main difference between Stripe and Airwallex?

Stripe is a payment gateway. It lets you accept online payments and pay out to a bank account, with strong developer tools and eCommerce integrations. Airwallex is a broader financial platform — it combines payment acceptance with multi-currency accounts, international transfers, corporate cards, and expense management. If you only need to accept payments, both work. If you also need to manage money across currencies and borders, the platforms are quite different in what they offer.

How do Stripe's fees compare to Airwallex's fees in Malaysia?

For domestic card payments, Stripe charges 3% + RM1.00 per transaction.¹ Airwallex charges 1.90% + RM0.50. Both components of Stripe's fee are higher. The gap grows further with international cards and currency conversion — Stripe adds an extra 2% when conversion is required,¹ while Airwallex lets you avoid conversion entirely through like-for-like settlement if you hold the currency in your wallet.

Does Airwallex support FPX, DuitNow, and other Malaysian payment methods? 

Yes. Airwallex supports FPX, DuitNow, GrabPay, Touch 'n Go, and other local Malaysian payment methods, alongside major card networks. Stripe also supports FPX and GrabPay in Malaysia,¹ but its published rates for these methods are higher than Airwallex's — FPX on Stripe, for example, costs 3% + RM1.00¹ compared to Airwallex's rates starting from 1.4% + RM0.50.

What is like-for-like settlement?

Like-for-like settlement means that when a customer pays you in a foreign currency — say, US dollars — the money lands in your account in that same currency, without being converted. You only convert when you choose to. This saves you the FX conversion fee that would otherwise apply on every international transaction. Airwallex supports like-for-like settlement in 20+ currencies directly into its multi-currency wallet, with no need to set up separate bank accounts.

Can I use Stripe or Airwallex for subscription billing?

Stripe has strong subscription billing tools built in — including usage-based billing, smart retries, and automated invoicing — which is why it's widely used by SaaS companies.¹ Airwallex supports subscription management via API and can handle recurring payments as well.

Is Airwallex regulated in Malaysia?

Yes. Airwallex is regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) as a licensed remittance business under the Money Services Business Act 2011, and as a registered merchant acquirer under the Financial Services Act 2013. This means it operates under Malaysia's financial services regulatory framework — relevant for businesses that want confidence in their payment provider's local standing.

Sources:

1. stripe.com/en-my/pricing

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).