Wise vs Payoneer vs Revolut vs Airwallex for founders: getting paid from abroad (2026)

To get paid by overseas clients as a remote founder, you need an account that gives you local account details in USD, EUR and GBP, lets you hold those balances, converts cheaply when you choose to, and pays out to your home bank for little or nothing. Wise Business, Payoneer, Revolut Business and Airwallex all do some version of this, and Mercury does it for US companies only. Which one you can actually open depends on where your business is registered and where you live, so start there, not with the fee table.

Every fee below was checked on each provider's own pricing or help page on 26 October 2026. Where a fee depends on the country, we show Australia as the example and say so.

What you need from a business account

You need four things, and most founders only check the first one.

1. Local receiving details. A US routing and account number lets a US client pay you by ACH or domestic wire, which is cheaper and simpler for them than an international Swift payment. A EUR IBAN does the same for European clients, and a UK sort code and account number for British ones.
2. Multi-currency balances. Holding USD means you can pay US software bills in USD without converting twice.
3. A low conversion cost. This is where most of the money goes. A 0.5% margin on US$100,000 a year is US$500.
4. A cheap payout to your home bank in your home currency, because that's where tax, rent and salary come from.

If a provider can't give you local USD details in your country, your clients will have to send an international wire, and intermediary banks can take a cut on the way.

The comparison table

This table compares the five providers on their own published terms. Fees are for the example country shown in brackets, because several providers price by country.

Wise Business

Wise Business is the simplest choice for sole traders and small companies who mostly receive USD, EUR and GBP. Its help centre lists sole traders and freelancers, limited and public companies, partnerships and some trusts as eligible, and says it will tell you whether it supports your country when you enter your details. It excludes cryptocurrency, tobacco and adult businesses, Australian super funds and companies with bearer shares.

In Australia, receiving by bank transfer needs the Advanced features, which cost a one-time A$65. After that, Wise lists domestic (non-Swift, non-wire) USD, EUR and GBP receipts as free, and charges US$6.11 for each incoming USD wire or Swift payment. Conversion starts from 0.19%, and Wise's own calculator quoted 0.28% for USD to AUD on the day we checked.

Payoneer

Payoneer is the one to look at if you're not registered as a business yet, or if you get paid through marketplaces. Its sign-up FAQ says to choose Individual if your business isn't registered and Company if it is, and that you can't switch between the two later. It also says Payoneer can't support direct registrations from "select countries and territories", and that a US$29.95 registration fee may apply in some countries.

Its receiving accounts give local details in 13 currencies, including USD, EUR and GBP, and the USD details accept ACH and domestic wires. The cost is in the percentages. Payoneer's pricing page charges 1% to receive into a receiving account in a currency that isn't your local currency, 0.5% to move funds between your balances, and 1.2% to 4% to withdraw to a bank in a different currency. Payoneer says these are its most common fees and that yours are shown during registration, so check them there.

Revolut Business

Revolut Business suits incorporated companies that want a full spending account with team cards, and its fees are mostly in the monthly plan. Its Australian eligibility page accepts companies registered in Australia or the US. An Australian company's applicant must live in Australia, the EEA, the UK, the US, Singapore or Switzerland, and a US company's applicant can live in a longer list that includes Brazil, India, Japan, Mexico and the UAE.

The catch for founders billing US clients: an Australian Revolut Business account has local details for AUD only, and every other currency comes in by Swift. Revolut says incoming USD, GBP, EUR and CHF transfers are free and don't count towards your allowance, but intermediary banks can still take fees when the sender picks the shared (SHA) option.

Airwallex

Airwallex is built for registered companies that receive and convert regularly and want local details in several countries. Its eligibility article says it can't offer accounts to individuals and that the business must be officially registered, active and fully incorporated. Its country list includes Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, most of the EU, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, each served by a named Airwallex entity.

Airwallex's Global Account guide lists US USD accounts that take ACH and Fedwire, UK GBP accounts, and EUR accounts in Germany, Estonia and the Netherlands, with some restrictions by onboarding entity. Its Australian fee schedule (last updated 18 September 2026) charges 0% to receive most currencies, 0.5% above interbank for major currencies and nothing for local transfers out. The Explore plan costs A$29 a month, or A$0 if you deposit at least A$5,000 a month or hold A$10,000 at month end.

Mercury (US companies only)

Mercury is only an option if you already have a US company. Its LLC banking page says customers must be formed and registered in the US or a US territory, with existing or planned US operations, though it supports founders living abroad outside a list of excluded countries. Our US LLC guide compares Mercury, Relay and Wise for US companies, so we won't repeat that table here.

Worked example: a US$5,000 invoice landed in AUD

On published fees alone, a US$5,000 payment from a US client landed in an Australian bank as A$7,086.20 through Wise Business and A$7,071.27 through Airwallex. Revolut Business can beat both on the exchange itself, but it charges a monthly plan fee and needs a Swift transfer you don't fully control.

Assumptions:

• You're an Australian company receiving into the provider's Australian product.
• The rate is 1 USD = 1.42136 AUD, the mid-market rate Wise showed at 00:33 WITA on 26 October 2026. We applied it to every provider, though each provider's actual interbank rate can differ slightly.
• Nothing is deducted by intermediary banks, the conversion happens on a weekday in market hours, and you pay the AUD out to your own Australian bank account.
• One-time and monthly fees are shown separately, because they're spread across every payment you receive.

At the mid-market rate, US$5,000 is 5,000 × 1.42136 = A$7,106.80. That's the benchmark.

Wise Business (ACH)

• Receive: ACH is a domestic, non-wire payment, so US$0.
• Convert and send to your Australian bank: Wise's calculator quoted US$14.49 (US$13.96 at 0.28%, plus US$0.53 fixed).
• (5,000 − 14.49) × 1.42136 = A$7,086.20, which is A$20.60 less than mid-market.
• If the client sends a wire instead: (5,000 − 6.11 − 14.48) × 1.42136 = A$7,077.53, A$29.27 less.
• Plus the one-time A$65 to unlock account details.

Airwallex (ACH or wire)

• Receive: 0% for USD.
• Convert: 0.5% above interbank, so 1.42136 × 0.995 = 1.414253, and 5,000 × 1.414253 = A$7,071.27, which is A$35.53 less than mid-market.
• Pay out: local transfers are A$0.
• Monthly fee: A$0, assuming this deposit (about A$7,107) counts towards the A$5,000 monthly deposit waiver.

Revolut Business (Swift)

• Receive: incoming USD is free, but your client must send a Swift payment, because the Australian account has no local USD details.
• Grow (A$30 a month): A$7,106.80 is inside the A$25,000 interbank allowance, so the exchange costs nothing and you land A$7,106.80, less the A$30 plan fee.
• Basic (A$15 a month): the allowance is A$2,000, so 0.6% applies to the rest: (7,106.80 − 2,000) × 0.006 = A$30.64, leaving A$7,076.16, less the A$15 plan fee. This assumes the allowance is unused and measured in AUD.
• Pay out: within the plan's no-fee local transfers.

Why Payoneer isn't in the example

Payoneer's published fees cover the first two steps: 1% to receive USD as a non-local currency (US$50.00), then 0.5% to move it into an AUD balance (4,950 × 0.005 = US$24.75). That's US$74.75 before the withdrawal, and Payoneer doesn't publish the Australian AUD withdrawal fee on its pricing page (it only gives a US example), so we left it out rather than guess.

The pattern is more useful than the exact dollars. Small, regular invoices favour Wise or Airwallex's free plan. Large monthly volumes can make a Revolut plan pay for itself, as long as your clients are happy sending Swift payments.

The W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E

A US client asks for one of these forms to record that you're not a US person, and filling it in is routine. The IRS describes Form W-8BEN as the form a foreign person gives "to the withholding agent or payer" when they're the beneficial owner of an amount subject to withholding, and says to submit it when the withholding agent or payer requests it, whether or not you claim a reduced rate.

Which form you sign depends on who the client is paying:

• W-8BEN is for individuals. If the invoice is in your own name as a sole trader, this is yours.
• W-8BEN-E is for entities. The IRS says Form W-8BEN-E is used by foreign entities to document their status. If your company issues the invoice, the company signs this one. The W-8BEN instructions tell foreign entities to use the W-8BEN-E, and US persons to use Form W-9.

Three practical points from the IRS instructions:

• Don't send it to the IRS. Give it to the person who asked for it.
• It expires. It's generally valid until the last day of the third calendar year after you sign it, unless your circumstances change, in which case you generally have 30 days to tell the payer and give a new form.
• Ignoring the request costs money. The IRS says failing to provide it when requested may lead to withholding at the 30% foreign-person rate or the backup withholding rate.

That's as far as this guide goes. Whether you owe tax, and where, depends on where you and your company are resident: our guide to tax residency for remote founders covers how countries decide.

Sole traders vs companies, and personal vs business accounts

If you're a sole trader, your realistic options are Wise Business and Payoneer. Wise lists sole traders and freelancers as eligible, and Payoneer takes unregistered individuals as Individual accounts. Airwallex and Revolut both want a company: Airwallex says it can't offer accounts to individuals and needs a fully incorporated business, and Revolut's Australian page says your company must be fully incorporated and active.

If you have a company, the account must be in the company's name, and every provider here asks for company documents and the owners' ID.

Don't use a personal account for client money. Wise is explicit: its help centre says a personal account should only be used for personal transactions, and a business account only for business transactions, "even if you're a freelancer or a sole proprietor". Mixing them also makes your bookkeeping and tax return harder. The other providers' pages we checked didn't state a rule on this, so we haven't claimed one.

If you sell software to customers rather than invoicing clients, a business account is only half the job: see merchant of record vs Stripe, and Stripe not available in my country if Stripe doesn't serve you. For running a company from Bali, Bali Startup & Tech covers the local side.

Common mistakes

Each of these mistakes traces back to a rule on the providers' own pages.

• Choosing on fees before checking eligibility. Revolut and Airwallex won't take a sole trader, Mercury won't take a non-US company, and Payoneer can't register some countries directly. Check the eligibility page first.
• Assuming "USD account" means ACH. Revolut's Australian accounts receive USD by Swift only. If your US clients only pay by ACH, check you'll get a US routing number before you send out an invoice.
• Ignoring the conversion step. Free receiving followed by a 1.2% to 4% conversion on withdrawal can cost more than a modest receiving fee followed by a 0.28% conversion.
• Converting on the weekend. Revolut charges a 1% mark-up outside market hours on every plan.
• Letting a Payoneer account go quiet. The US$29.95 annual fee applies if you receive under US$6,000 in 12 months.
• Using a personal account for business income. Wise says not to, and it muddies your records.
• Sending the W-8 to the IRS, or picking the wrong one. It goes to the payer, and the W-8BEN-E is for companies.
• Forgetting about plan fees. A plan that costs A$30 a month adds A$360 a year whether you receive one invoice or fifty.

A checklist before you open an account

1. Write down where your business is registered and where you live, and confirm both are on the provider's eligibility page.
2. List the currencies your clients pay in, and how they pay (ACH, wire, SEPA, card).
3. Check the provider gives local details for those currencies in your country, not just Swift details.
4. Note the receiving fee for each payment type from the provider's own pricing page.
5. Note the conversion fee for your main pair (for example, USD to AUD), and when it changes (weekends, allowances).
6. Add the monthly or annual fee, and any one-time setup fee.
7. Work through one typical invoice from start to finish, as in the example above.
8. Decide whether you'll invoice as an individual or a company, and have the matching W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E ready.
9. Keep client income in a business account only.
10. Recheck the fees at least once a year. Airwallex's Australian schedule was last updated on 18 September 2026 and Payoneer's pricing on 1 January 2026.

Remote Builders members swap notes on setups like this at builder dinners in Bali and Australia.