What is like-for-like settlement? Singapore guide (2026)

Key takeaways:

• Like-for-like settlement means your payment provider pays you in the same currency your customer paid in — no forced conversion, no hidden FX markup.

• Most payment providers in Singapore default to settling in SGD or USD only. If you sell in GBP, EUR or AUD, you're losing 2–3% on every international transaction.

• Airwallex is the only payment provider in Singapore offering like-for-like settlement in 14 currencies, giving you the widest coverage to collect, hold and pay out without forced conversion.

Like-for-like settlement is a payment setup where merchants receive funds in the same currency their customer originally paid, without forced conversion to their home currency (SGD, in your case) or unexpected FX markups.

This guide explains how like-for-like settlement works, why it impacts international revenue, and how Singapore businesses can use it to protect their margins in 2026.

What is like-for-like settlement?

Like-for-like settlement is when your payment provider settles funds to you in the same currency your customer paid in. If a customer in Sydney pays AUD 200, you receive AUD 200 in your account. No conversion happens between the customer paying and the money landing with you.

It sounds obvious, but most payment providers don't work this way by default. They convert incoming foreign currency into a single base currency — usually SGD or USD for Singapore merchants — before paying out to you. That conversion is where the FX markup hides.

Transaction currency, settlement currency, and store currency

Three currencies are involved in every cross-border transaction:

• Store currency: The base currency your business is set up in. For most Singapore businesses, this is SGD.

• Transaction currency: The currency the customer actually pays in at checkout. If your store shows prices in GBP to UK customers, GBP is the transaction currency.

• Settlement currency: The currency your provider pays out to you. This is the one that determines whether you keep the full value of the sale or lose some to FX.

With like-for-like settlement, the transaction currency and the settlement currency match. With forced conversion, they don't — and you pay the spread.

How it differs from forced currency conversion

Forced currency conversion is the default for most payment processors. Here’s how it works:

• The provider accepts the customer's payment in their local currency, then immediately converts it to your base or default settlement currency at a rate they set.

• The markup over the mid-market rate sits inside that rate, so you rarely see the actual cost.

Like-for-like settlement removes that conversion entirely. The money sits in your account in the original currency. You decide when, how and whether to convert — and you can hold the funds in that currency to pay overseas suppliers, contractors or marketplace fees without converting twice.

The hidden cost of not having like-for-like settlement

Most Singapore businesses don't realise how much they're losing to forced conversion until they sit down and do the maths.

The cost comes in two layers: the FX markup your provider charges when they convert the customer's payment, and the second conversion you pay later when you move funds out to suppliers or staff.

The FX markup most providers don't show you

When a customer pays in a foreign currency and your provider settles you in SGD or USD, the provider runs that conversion at their own rate.

The rate looks reasonable on the surface — it's usually only a percent or two off the mid-market rate you see on Google. But that one or two percent is the markup, and it sits on every single transaction.

Stripe, for example, charges a flat 2% currency conversion fee on top of its standard card processing fee whenever a conversion is required. That's 2% on top of the 3.4% + S$0.50 you already pay for the card transaction¹.

So a UK customer paying you GBP 100 through Stripe doesn't just cost you the card fee — it costs you the card fee plus 2% of the transaction value, every time.

Most providers don't itemise this as a line on your statement. You see a settlement report showing a final SGD amount, and the markup is already absorbed into the conversion rate. You'd have to compare against the mid-market rate on the day to see what you actually paid.

The double conversion trap

The second cost most merchants miss is double conversion. Here's how it plays out.

You sell to a UK customer in GBP. Your provider converts the GBP to SGD and pays you in SGD. So far, that’s one conversion and one markup.

But then your business needs to pay a UK-based ad agency, a US-based SaaS subscription, or a Chinese supplier — and the funds are now sitting in SGD. To pay any of those overseas costs, you convert SGD back into GBP, USD or CNY.

That's a second conversion, with a second markup, often at a bank rate that's even worse than your processor's.

For businesses with overseas suppliers, contractors or platform fees, the double conversion trap essentially doubles your FX cost. Like-for-like settlement breaks this loop by letting you hold the original currency and pay it straight out.

Example: a S$100,000 monthly cross-border business

Take a Singapore eCommerce brand processing S$100,000 a month in cross-border sales, split roughly across US (USD), UK (GBP) and Australia (AUD) customers.

If their provider forces conversion to SGD at a 2% FX markup, that's S$2,000 a month lost to FX on the way in. Annualised, that's S$24,000 a year that you’re losing on FX.

Now layer in the double conversion problem. Say the same business spends S$30,000 a month paying overseas suppliers and SaaS tools, and has to convert SGD back into USD, GBP and AUD to pay them. At another 2% on the way out, that's another S$600 a month — S$7,200 a year — lost on the second conversion.

Total annual cost of forced conversion: roughly S$31,200.

With like-for-like settlement, that cost goes close to zero — because the GBP from your UK customer can be used to pay your UK ad agency without ever being converted.

5 benefits of like-for-like settlement

Like-for-like settlement isn't just a cost-saving lever. It changes how you manage cash, plan FX and run cross-border operations. Here are the five benefits that matter most for Singapore businesses.

Benefit 1: Lower FX costs on every transaction

This is the most obvious one. When the transaction currency matches the settlement currency, no conversion happens — so no markup is applied.

Benefit 2: Stable exchange rate exposure

Forced conversion means you're locked into whatever rate your provider applies on the day they pay you out. If the rate moves against you between the customer paying and the funds landing, you absorb the loss.

Like-for-like settlement removes that exposure — you decide when to convert, or you don't convert at all.

Benefit 3: Faster, cleaner reconciliation

Reconciling settlement reports against your sales data is much easier when the numbers match. A GBP 100 sale that lands as GBP 100 in your account is straightforward to reconcile.

The same sale converted to SGD at a variable rate, after fees, becomes a finance team headache — especially if you're processing thousands of transactions a month across multiple currencies.

Benefit 4: More pricing flexibility in foreign markets

When you don't have to absorb FX markup on every transaction, you have more room to price competitively in local currencies. You can run promotions, match local competitor pricing, or build margin into your strategy.

Benefit 5: Pay overseas costs in the same currency you earned

This is the operational benefit most merchants underestimate. If you earn USD from US customers, you can use that same USD balance to pay US ad spend, freelancers, or supplier invoices — with no conversion in either direction.

The same applies for GBP, EUR, AUD and any other currency where you have both inbound revenue and outbound spend. You stop paying for FX you don't need.

Who needs like-for-like settlement?

Like-for-like settlement matters most when your business has revenue and costs in the same foreign currencies — or when you process high enough volume that FX markups become a real line item on the P&L. These four types of businesses tend to feel the pain hardest:

Type 1: Scaling eCommerce and DTC brands

If you sell into multiple countries through Shopify, WooCommerce or your own checkout, you're collecting payments in customer currencies and (usually) paying for ad spend, fulfillment and tech stack in those same currencies.

For example, a DTC brand selling into the US, UK and Australia is likely paying Meta and Google in USD, a UK 3PL in GBP, and Australian influencers in AUD.

Without like-for-like settlement, every dollar of revenue gets converted to SGD on the way in, then converted back out when you pay your overseas costs. You're paying FX twice on the same dollar — and your margin on cross-border sales suffers for it.

Type 2: Travel and hospitality businesses

Travel businesses sit at the centre of one of the most FX-heavy verticals there is. You're collecting bookings in customer currencies — USD from American travellers, GBP from UK guests, AUD from Australians — and paying out to overseas hotels, DMCs, ground operators and airlines in their local currencies.

The corridors are predictable: USD in, USD out; THB in, THB out; JPY in, JPY out. 

Like-for-like settlement lets you hold each currency in its own account and pay suppliers directly, instead of running every booking through SGD and paying for two conversions on each transaction.

Type 3: Multi-entity importers and manufacturers

Importers and manufacturers with multiple entities or supplier relationships across China, the US, Europe and Southeast Asia deal with constant currency mismatch. You might invoice US distributors in USD, source raw materials from China in CNY, ship through European logistics partners in EUR, and consolidate finances in Singapore.

Every currency conversion along that chain eats margin and complicates reconciliation between entities. Like-for-like settlement, combined with multi-currency accounts, lets you keep each currency in its own bucket — paying suppliers in the currency they invoice you in, and only converting when you actually need SGD for tax, salaries or local expenses.

Type 4: B2B SaaS companies with global customers

SaaS companies billing international customers usually price in local currencies to reduce checkout friction and improve conversion.

A Singapore-based SaaS billing in USD, GBP, EUR and AUD will see all those currencies hit their payment processor — and if the processor converts everything to SGD, the FX cost shows up as compressed gross margin on international revenue.

That margin compression matters at every stage. Early-stage SaaS teams optimising for runway feel it on cash burn. Growth-stage companies tracking unit economics see it as a drag on net revenue retention and LTV.

Like-for-like settlement keeps the revenue in its original currency, so you can either hold it for working capital in that market — paying for hosting, sales reps or partners locally — or convert on your own terms when the rate works in your favour.

Like-for-like settlement in Singapore: What providers actually offer

Most payment gateway comparison articles in Singapore don't spell out which providers actually support like-for-like settlement and how many currencies they cover.

These details matter, because when a provider says "we support multi-currency payments", it typically means that they can accept payments in many currencies — not that they pay you out in the same currency the customer paid in.

Here's how the major providers available to Singapore businesses compare on like-for-like settlement:

The information in this table has been reviewed to be accurate as of 18 May 2026.

The SGD-only or SGD-default trap

The biggest gap in the Singapore market is the number of providers that default to SGD-only settlement. HitPay and Shopify Payments both fall into this category — every cross-border payment runs through a conversion to SGD before it reaches you, with a markup applied in the conversion.

Stripe sits in a slightly better position because you can configure USD payouts, but it charges 1% of payout volume for the privilege¹, and USD is the only non-SGD option. Anything in GBP, EUR, AUD or other currencies still goes through the 2% currency conversion fee.

Adyen offers genuine multi-currency settlement for 10 currencies, which works well if your business operates within those corridors. 2C2P offers wider coverage across SEA currencies, which suits businesses operating heavily in regional markets like Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Airwallex is the only provider in this list with like-for-like settlement coverage across 14 currencies — including SEA, major Western corridors, and CNY for China-linked supply chains. That breadth is the main reason Airwallex tends to win against the competition for Singapore businesses with diverse cross-border flows.

How to set up like-for-like settlement

Switching to like-for-like settlement isn't a complicated migration. Here's a step-by-step guide to follow: 

Step 1: Confirm which currencies your business actually transacts in

Before you compare providers, map your real cash flows. Look at the last 12 months of revenue by customer country, and the last 12 months of overseas spend — suppliers, contractors, ad platforms, SaaS tools, fulfillment partners. Group both sides by currency.

The output should be a short list of the currencies where you have meaningful inbound revenue, outbound spend, or both. For most Singapore businesses, this looks something like SGD, USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, and one or two SEA currencies. Anything below a few percent of total volume probably isn't worth optimising for.

Step 2: Choose a provider that supports those currencies natively

Match your currency list against what each provider settles like-for-like. If your top currencies are USD, GBP and AUD, a provider that only settles SGD and USD will still cost you on GBP and AUD volume. If you're operating across SEA corridors, look for coverage of THB, MYR, IDR and PHP.

Pay close attention to the difference between "we accept payments in this currency" and "we settle you in this currency." Like-for-like settlement is the second.

Step 3: Set up matching multi-currency accounts to receive the funds

Like-for-like settlement only works if you have an account that can actually hold the foreign currency. If your provider settles you in GBP but you only have an SGD bank account, your bank may convert the GBP into SGD on the way in, which defeats the purpose.

The cleanest setup is a multi-currency business account with local receiving details in each currency you settle, such as Airwallex Global Accounts.

Step 4: Reconcile against your settlement report

Once you're live, the final step is making sure your accounting reflects the change. Your settlement report should now show separate currency balances rather than one consolidated SGD figure.

Reconcile each currency separately against your sales data, and track FX conversions as a distinct line item when you do eventually convert.

This is also where the operational benefit shows up. Reconciling GBP sales against GBP settlements is far easier than reconciling GBP sales against a converted SGD payout with variable FX rates.

Your finance team gets cleaner books, and you get full visibility into how much foreign currency you're actually holding at any given time.

How Airwallex handles like-for-like settlement for Singapore businesses

The earlier sections covered what like-for-like settlement is, what it costs not to have it, and which providers actually offer it.

Now, let's look at what the workflow actually looks like for a Singapore business using Airwallex — and what happens to the S$31,200 annual FX cost from the earlier example.

Step 1: Collect in the customer's currency

When a UK customer pays you GBP 100 through your Airwallex checkout, the payment lands in your account as GBP 100. The same applies to USD from US customers, AUD from Australian customers, EUR from European customers, and so on across 14 supported currencies.

Your checkout can present prices in local currencies to reduce cart abandonment, and the funds settle into your account in those same currencies.

Step 2: Hold the funds in matching currency accounts

Each currency you settle in sits in its own balance inside your Airwallex Global Account, with local receiving details for major currencies. Your GBP from UK sales sits in a GBP balance with UK account details, and your USD sits in a USD balance with US routing details.

You can hold the funds as long as you need — there's no automatic conversion happening in the background.

Step 3: Pay overseas costs in the same currency you earned

This is where the double conversion problem gets solved:

• The GBP balance from your UK sales can be used to pay your UK ad agency, UK 3PL or UK freelancers directly in GBP, without any conversions or FX fees. 

• The USD balance pays your US SaaS subscriptions and Meta ad spend. 

• The CNY balance pays your Chinese suppliers. 

Step 4: Convert only when you need to

When you do need to move funds into SGD, Airwallex applies a highly competitive rate of 0.4% to 0.6% above interbank rates with a small markup, saving you up to 80% on FX fees.

What this looks like for the S$100,000 monthly business

Back to the earlier worked example: a Singapore eCommerce brand doing S$100,000 a month in cross-border sales and paying out S$30,000 a month in overseas costs. Under forced conversion at a 2% markup, that business loses ~S$31,200 a year to FX.

Here's what changes with like-for-like settlement through Airwallex:

• Inbound FX cost on S$100,000 of cross-border revenue: S$0. The GBP, USD and AUD revenue lands in the matching currency balance, with no conversion applied.

• Outbound FX cost on S$30,000 of overseas spend: S$0. The same currency balances pay overseas suppliers, ad platforms and contractors directly — no second conversion needed.

• Remaining FX cost on S$70,000 of foreign currency revenue converted to SGD at 0.4% above interbank: roughly S$280 a month, or S$3,360 a year.

This means that you save ~S$27,800 a year with Airwallex.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What's the difference between presentment currency and settlement currency?

Presentment currency is the currency your customer sees and pays in at checkout — for example, GBP if you're showing UK prices in pounds. Settlement currency is the currency your payment provider actually pays out to you after processing the transaction. Like-for-like settlement happens when these two currencies match. When they don't, your provider runs a currency conversion in between and applies an FX markup on every transaction.

Does Stripe offer like-for-like settlement in Singapore?

Stripe in Singapore defaults to settling in SGD, with USD payouts available as a paid add-on at 1% of payout volume¹. For any other currency — GBP, EUR, AUD and so on — Stripe applies a 2% currency conversion fee on top of its standard card processing fee¹. So while Stripe is widely used in Singapore, it offers limited like-for-like settlement coverage compared to providers built around multi-currency operations.

Does Adyen offer like-for-like settlement for Singapore merchants?

Yes — Adyen offers like-for-like settlement in 10 currencies for Singapore merchants: AUD, CNY, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, THB and USD². Any currency outside that list gets converted to your configured primary settlement currency. Adyen tends to suit larger enterprise merchants with consistent volume across those specific corridors.

How much can like-for-like settlement save my business?

The saving depends on your cross-border volume and the FX markup your current provider charges. As a rough benchmark, a Singapore business processing S$100,000 a month in cross-border sales typically loses around S$24,000 a year to a 2% inbound FX markup alone — and a further S$7,000 or so when overseas spend gets double-converted. Switching to like-for-like settlement eliminates most of that cost. With Airwallex, the residual FX on SGD conversions sits at 0.4% above interbank for major currencies, so the total annual FX bill drops dramatically.

Can I get like-for-like settlement through a Singapore bank?

Most Singapore banks don't offer like-for-like settlement in the way modern payment providers do. Banks typically settle into a single base currency account and apply their own FX markup on the conversion — often less transparently than fintech alternatives. If you need foreign currency holding capability, a multi-currency business account is usually a better fit than a traditional bank account.

Do I need a local entity in every country to use like-for-like settlement?

No. If you do a Google search, some older articles suggest you need to incorporate locally in each country you sell into, but this is no longer true. Providers like Airwallex give your Singapore-registered business local receiving details across 20+ currencies — so you can collect, hold and pay out in foreign currencies without setting up overseas entities. You only need local incorporation if specific tax or regulatory rules in that market require it.

Sources:

1.  https://stripe.com/en-sg/pricing

2.  https://docs.adyen.com/account/supported-currencies

3.  https://2c2p.com/payment

4.  https://hitpayapp.com/sg/pricing

5.  https://www.shopify.com/sg/payments

This publication does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice from Airwallex, nor does it 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 (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (201626561Z) is licensed as a Major Payment Institution and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.