Who Airwallex suits
Airwallex combines payment acceptance with a business account that holds several currencies. That makes it a natural fit for stores that sell to buyers in many countries, and for stores that pay suppliers abroad, for example in US dollars.
If you take payments in euro, pound and dollar and pay a supplier in dollars, you can keep money in the currency you'll spend it in instead of converting back and forth. Each conversion you skip is a cost you don't pay.
How Airwallex's fees work
Airwallex charges per payment. As with most providers, the rate depends on the card and where it was issued, with domestic cards usually cheaper than international ones, and local methods priced separately. Check Airwallex's pricing for your region for the exact numbers.
Currency conversion is part of the picture too. Look at what you're charged to convert, not only the payment fee, because for a cross-border store that's often where the money goes. On a Settl checkout there's no per-order fee from Settl and no Shopify third-party transaction fee on top.
What buyers can pay with
Through Airwallex, buyers can pay with cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, plus local methods in markets where Airwallex offers them. Which methods show depends on your Airwallex account and the buyer's country.
When the buyer chooses Airwallex on your checkout, they pay on Airwallex's secure payment page and return to your store's confirmation. Airwallex confirms the payment to Settl and the order is created in Shopify.
Is Airwallex the right provider for your store?
Airwallex is a strong pick if you sell to buyers in several countries, receive money in more than one currency or pay suppliers abroad. Holding balances in the currencies you spend can matter as much as the payment fee itself.
It's less of a fit if almost all of your buyers are in one country and expect a local bank method. For a mostly Dutch or Belgian audience, Mollie or Stripe with iDEAL and Bancontact will usually convert better. You don't have to choose only one: connect Airwallex for international cards and wallets, and a second provider for local methods.
Payouts and balances
Payments settle into your Airwallex account in the currency you received, so you can hold them, pay suppliers directly or transfer to your bank. Refunds are made from your Airwallex dashboard.
Airwallex verifies every business before it can take payments. Get that done and make sure Airwallex knows what you sell before you switch your checkout over.
Setting up your Shopify Airwallex checkout
Settl needs two things from Airwallex: your Client ID and an API key. Use a scoped key with write access to Payment Acceptance (payment intents and webhooks) rather than a full-access key. Settl then creates the payment notification (webhook) in your Airwallex account itself.
If you have more than one Airwallex account under the same key, also fill in the account ID so payments land in the right one. There's a Sandbox mode for testing before you go live.