Airwallex India: Availability, pricing, and a compliant alternative for exporters
Short answer: Yes, Airwallex is available in India. India-registered businesses are onboarded under Airwallex Singapore Pte. Ltd., and your products/fees follow the Singapore entity.
TL;DR
- Availability: India-registered companies can open an account, managed by Airwallex Singapore (entity determines product set & fees).
- International payments stack: Global Accounts (receive in 20+ currencies), multi-currency wallet, and a payment gateway (major cards & 160+ local methods). INR Global Account is not offered; INR payouts are supported.
- Pricing & FX: Account opening is free. FX conversion generally uses a spread over interbank (public pages show ~0.5% for major currencies, ~1.0% for others). Card acceptance/payout fees vary by region.
- Compliance note: We haven’t found public, official confirmation that Airwallex automatically issues FIRA/eBRC for India inward remittances. Confirm during onboarding.
- Alternative: If you need India-specific compliance (FIRA/eBRC generation, compliant workflow) by default, along with live forex rate, consider Skydo.
What is Airwallex?
Airwallex is a global payments and financial platform founded in 2015. It offers multi-currency accounts, FX & transfers, payment acceptance (gateway & links), payouts, cards/expense, and APIs.
Is Airwallex available in India?
Yes. India is an eligible country to onboard, and India-registered companies are served by the Singapore entity—this influences available features, fee schedules, and compliance artefacts.
Eligibility (India-registered companies)
- Companies & LLPs, Proprietorships & Partnerships, MSMEs (Udyam)
Onboarding (typical)
- Sign up → select business type & entity details (India-registered; served via Singapore)
- KYC/KYB → upload required documents
- Review & activation → often 1–3 business days after verification (timelines vary)
Documents (indicative; confirm during signup)
Airwallex has a dedicated page for South-East Asia documents, which includes India. Expect standard company proofs (incorporation, GST, PAN, ownership chart) and a recent bank statement or financials.
Key takeaway: You’ll operate under Singapore licensing, not Indian banking regulation. This affects available features, pricing visibility, and compliance documentation.
What Indian businesses can use with Airwallex
1) Global Accounts (collect like a local)
- Create Global Accounts in 20+ currencies located in 10+ countries/regions; receive via local rails or SWIFT. INR is not a Global Account currency; INR payouts are supported via local rails.
- Funds land in your multi-currency wallet; hold, convert, or payout.
- No setup fee is typical; recurring/usage charges depend on region/plan.
How it works (example): A US client pays you via ACH into your US receiving details; funds land as USD in your wallet → you hold or convert to INR → payout domestically.
2) Payment Gateway (accept cards & local methods)
- 160+ payment methods (cards, wallets, local methods; selection varies by region).
- Multi-currency checkout (130+ currencies) and like-for-like settlement in multiple currencies (Airwallex states 7+ currencies in help, and broader claims in marketing; confirm your exact list during onboarding).
- Integrations: Hosted checkout, Payment Links, Shopify/WooCommerce/Magento/Shoplazza, or custom APIs.
Pricing & FX: what’s public (examples)
Important: India-registered businesses are typically on Singapore pricing logic. Confirm your exact rates with Airwallex.
FX conversion (public references)
Airwallex pricing pages commonly show ~0.5% above interbank for major currencies and ~1.0% for others (ranges can vary by country page/plan).
Worked example (USD → INR @ 0.60% spread for illustration):
- Mid-market: 1 USD = ₹86.00 → on USD 1,000, that’s ₹86,000
- Applied spread: 0.60% → effective ₹85.48 per USD
- You receive ≈ ₹85,480 → conversion cost ≈ ₹520
Card acceptance (gateway) — reference geographies
Rates vary by merchant region. Public UK pricing page shows: UK cards 1.30% + £0.20; EEA cards 2.40% + £0.20; International 3.15% + £0.20 per successful card transaction. Use this only as a benchmark and confirm India-entity specifics with sales.
Payouts & SWIFT (reference schedules)
- Local transfers are marketed as low/near-zero fees in many corridors; actual INR local payout fees depend on entity/plan (Airwallex marketing and regional pricing pages differ—confirm for your setup).
- SWIFT transfers on public pricing pages are often listed ~$15–$35, depending on country page and SHA/OUR mode.
Scenario: receiving USD 1,000
| Component | Receiving via global accounts | Card via gateway |
| Initial payment | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Receiving fee | $0.00 (typical for many currencies) | $30.00 (3.0% blended example) |
| Net USD in wallet | $1,000 | $970 |
| FX spread to INR | 0.60% | 0.60% |
| INR payout (local) | ~$3 (illustrative; confirm) | ~$3 (illustrative; confirm) |
| Net INR (@ ₹85.48 per USD) | ≈ ₹85,223 | ≈ ₹82,659 |
What Indian exporters should verify (with any provider)
- Local receiving details in major currencies (USD/EUR/GBP) and like-for-like settlement support.
- Transparent FX (published spread over interbank) with no hidden markups.
- Automatic documentation: FIRA for inward remittance; eBRC where applicable (e.g., Amazon Global Selling).
- Responsive customer support for urgent queries
Note: We haven’t found official, public confirmation that Airwallex automatically issues FIRA/eBRC for India inward remittances. Ask this explicitly in onboarding.
A tailored, compliant alternative for Indian exporters: Skydo
If you export services from India, the real bottleneck isn’t just collecting dollars, it’s staying audit-ready while you collect. That’s the problem Skydo solves without drama. Your client pays like they would locally, money lands in your local virtual account, FX is at live mid-market rates with a clear flat fee, and the compliance trail writes itself. A FIRA is generated when funds settle; if you sell via Amazon Global Selling, you also receive eBRC. The purpose code you chose once is remembered for next time, so every repeat invoice stays clean and consistent. What you see is a practical stack that cuts back and forth, shortens payout time, and doesn’t leave you guessing at audit time.
Why Skydo (quick hits):
- Local collection, global ease: Virtual USD/EUR/GBP accounts, so that your clients pay you like a local.
- Card support for US clients: Your US clients can pay via card or net banking with no extra hoops. Just create a simple payment link on Skydo, share it with your client, and they can pay you via card or net banking.
- Transparent FX: Live mid-market conversion with a clear flat fee—no hidden markups.
- Purpose-code memory: Set once; auto-applied on repeat invoices for consistent records.
- Built for Indian exporters: Fast INR payouts, India-based support, and policies tuned for local regulation.
Get started in minutes. Streamline international payments and stay fully compliant—Sign up for Skydo.
Is Airwallex available in India?
Yes. India-registered companies can onboard via Airwallex Singapore. Product availability and fees follow the Singapore entity.
What are Airwallex’s FX fees?
Can Airwallex issue FIRA/eBRC automatically?
