Airwallex vs Shopify Payments: Compare fees, features, and benefits

If you’re running a Shopify store, you’ll know that payments and FX can quickly eat into margins. Shopify Payments (and particularly Shopify Plus) is the native option for merchants who want simplicity and an all-in-one experience inside the Shopify dashboard.

Airwallex takes a different approach. As an official plugin for Shopify, it plugs directly into your store but adds a global financial layer on top. That means you can accept payments in 160+ local methods, settle like-for-like across currencies, convert at published interbank-linked FX rates, and manage payouts, cards, and expenses from one unified platform.

In short:

• Choose Shopify Payments if you want a straightforward setup that keeps everything inside Shopify and you sell mainly in one market.

• Choose Airwallex if you sell across borders, want control over FX and settlement, and need advanced spend and cash-flow management beyond Shopify.

In this guide, we’ll break down the differences so you can decide when to stick with Shopify Payments and when to bring Airwallex in as your global finance plugin.

What is Airwallex?

Airwallex is a global financial platform that also integrates directly with Shopify via its official plugin. This means you can connect your store to a multi-currency wallet and global finance stack, giving you more control over FX, settlement, and spend than Shopify Payments alone.

With Airwallex, you can open local account details in more than 60 countries and 23 currencies, receive and hold funds without forced conversions, and move money internationally to 200 countries. Like-for-like settlement lets you accept and settle in the same currency, so you can manage FX on your terms. Beyond payments, Airwallex also offers corporate cards, expense management, and bill pay, all unified in one platform.

What is Shopify Payments?

Shopify Payments is the payment gateway built directly into Shopify. It lets merchants accept major cards and some local payment methods through their Shopify checkout, with all transactions and payouts managed from within the Shopify admin. It’s tightly integrated with Shopify’s reporting and order management tools.

For stores selling in multiple currencies, it handles currency presentation at checkout and offers Multi-Currency Payouts on certain higher-tier plans, allowing settlements in some non-domestic currencies.

At a glance: Everything you need to know about Airwallex and Shopify Payments

Here’s how the two platforms compare on the features that matter most.

Read more:

• Wise vs Airwallex: compare on fees, features and benefits

• Spendesk vs Airwallex: compare fees, features and benefits

• Equalsmoney vs Airwallex: compare fees, features and benefits

How it adds up: Monthly plan and transaction costs

Here’s how each handles plan fees, transaction costs, and currency conversion.

Monthly plans

Airwallex: Explore plan is free if you deposit or hold at least £10,000 in a month, otherwise it is £19. Grow is £49 per month, and Accelerate is £999 per month.

Shopify Payments: There is no separate subscription for Shopify Payments, but you’ll need a Shopify plan, which is priced separately.

Card acceptance fees 

Airwallex: UK Visa and Mastercard transactions are charged at 1.30% plus £0.20. EEA cards are 2.40% plus £0.20, and international cards are 3.15% plus £0.20. Over 160 local payment methods are also supported.

Shopify Payments: Rates start at 2.0% plus 25p on Basic, 1.7% plus 25p on Grow, and 1.5% plus 25p on Advanced. Final rates are confirmed in your Shopify admin.

Currency conversion

Airwallex: charges a settlement fee of 1% for like-for-like currencies (no FX fee), and 2% for non like-for-like currencies.

Shopify Payments: Applies a currency conversion fee at the point of capture if the payment currency differs from the payout currency. Shopify’s help centre lists 2% for regions outside the United States.

Third-party transaction fees  

If you use a non-Shopify gateway on Basic, Grow, or Advanced, Shopify adds an extra fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, and 0.6% on Advanced. Using Shopify Plus will remove these charges if Shopify Payments remains your primary gateway.

See which Airwallex plan works best for you.

How Airwallex and Shopify Payments compare on other features

Looking beyond headline card rates, the two platforms take a different approach to the broader payment and finance stack.

Checkout and payment methods

Airwallex supports online card acceptance and offers over 160 local payment methods, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay through its Shopify plugin, making cross-market sales smoother. 

Shopify Payments supports major cards and selected local options, and includes Shop Pay to speed up repeat checkouts.

Settlement and currency control

Airwallex gives you like‑for‑like settlement, so you can hold funds in the currency you received using a multi‑currency wallet and convert when it suits you.

Shopify Payments usually converts funds at capture into your payout currency. Advanced and Plus merchants can receive payouts directly in GBP through Multi‑Currency Payouts. 

Transfers and payouts

Airwallex’s payout network includes 200 countries with free local transfers to over 120 countries.

Shopify Payments focuses solely on card-backed payouts and doesn’t provide transfer or treasury services.

Corporate cards and spend management

Airwallex includes multi-currency corporate and employee cards, plus expense and bill management tools connected to your wallet. 

Shopify Payments doesn't offer spend, billing, or corporate card features.

Accounting and reconciliation

Airwallex has a transparent multi-currency ledger for balances, FX, transfers, and payouts.

Shopify Payments provides reporting via the Shopify admin, which integrates with order and fulfilment data but has less granular FX control.

Developer control and APIs

Airwallex gives you extensive APIs across payments, FX, accounts, issuing, and transfers that are usable on and off Shopify. 

Shopify Payments functions primarily within the Shopify ecosystem and isn't built for external API use as a standalone treasury tool.

Marketplace and B2B flows

Airwallex provides local account details in 60 countries and 23 currencies, making it easy to collect marketplace and B2B payments locally and then consolidate funds by currency.

Shopify Payments is tuned for Shopify checkout flows; for marketplaces or invoices you'd typically need supplementary services.

Refunds and FX treatment

Airwallex’s like-for-like settlement allows refunded funds to stay in the original currency, reducing FX inefficiencies.

Shopify Payments tends to convert funds at capture, meaning refunds may reflect earlier FX rates.

Reporting and analytics

Airwallex gives you a financial-first view of collection, conversion, and payout, enabling margin breakdown by currency and payment method.

Shopify Payments provides operational reports inside Shopify, which are helpful for store-level management but less focused on FX outcomes.

Which platform is better for your business?

Choose Shopify Payments if:

• You run a small, domestic store and want to keep everything inside Shopify.

• Your customers mostly pay in your payout currency and FX is minimal.

• You value tight Shopify admin integration over broader financial control.

Choose Airwallex if:

• You sell in multiple currencies and want to settle like-for-like then reuse (to pay suppliers etc) later at a clear FX margin.  

• You want a global finance stack (accounts, FX, payouts, cards, and spend management) connected directly to your Shopify store.

• You sell on and off Shopify and need one platform to unify collections and cash flow.

• You plan to expand internationally and want free local transfers at scale with optional SWIFT when required.

Why businesses are switching to Airwallex

Card fees are only part of the cost. Collections, FX, and payouts also affect margins.

With Airwallex, you control when to convert funds, avoiding unnecessary conversions and keeping FX margins predictable. Like-for-like settlement across currencies reduces leakage, and a unified wallet simplifies cash-flow planning.

And because Airwallex runs as an official Shopify plugin, you don’t have to choose one or the other. Many merchants keep Shopify Payments live to retain plan benefits, while using Airwallex for global payments, FX, and spend management.

For more information on Airwallex, visit Airwallex Business Account and Airwallex pricing.

Conclusion

Shopify Payments is a solid choice for domestic stores that value simplicity inside Shopify. But once you sell across borders, card fees, conversion fees, and settlement rules can make a big difference.

Adding Airwallex as a plugin gives you clear FX pricing, multi-currency accounts, and tools to run your wider finance operations. For many global sellers, that combination lowers total costs and provides cleaner, more scalable operations, all while keeping the benefits of Shopify Payments in place.

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q3 2025. The information was based on our own online research and we were not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed every six months. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].