Airwallex vs. Relay Financial: Picking the Right Banking for My Small Business
Man, comparing business banking options is always a headache, right? I’ve been running my small e-commerce thing for a few years now, and I’m always on the hunt for ways to keep those fees low and the features useful. Recently, I decided to really dig into Airwallex and Relay Financial because my current setup just isn’t cutting it—too many hidden fees and international transfers were killing me.
I started by signing up for Airwallex first. The initial draw was definitely their global capabilities. Since I deal with suppliers in Asia, multi-currency accounts are non-negotiable. The sign-up process was relatively smooth, mostly digital, though it took about three days for full verification. I uploaded all my business docs—articles of incorporation, EIN letter, the usual stuff. Once I was in, I immediately set up a few foreign currency wallets, specifically AUD and CNY. What I wanted to test immediately was their exchange rate and transfer speed.
I initiated a small transfer of $500 USD to a supplier’s account in China. Airwallex showed the exchange rate upfront, which seemed pretty competitive, definitely better than what I was paying my old bank. The funds actually landed much quicker than I expected—less than 24 hours. That was a serious win. Their dashboard is clean, too. It shows all my wallets, and managing international payments felt intuitive. They also issue virtual cards, which I immediately used for some online ad spend testing. No issues there.
Next up, Relay Financial. Relay is more focused on domestic business banking, especially for those who need good integration with bookkeeping software, like QuickBooks or Xero. Since I spend hours every month wrestling with my books, this was a huge selling point. The sign-up for Relay was even faster than Airwallex, I think I was fully verified within 24 hours.
Right out of the gate, Relay impressed me with the ability to create multiple checking accounts—up to 20, I think. I love compartmentalization, so I immediately set up separate accounts for payroll, taxes, and operating expenses. This feature alone drastically simplifies my budgeting and tax preparation. No more guessing which pot of money is meant for what. They also offer debit cards tied to these specific accounts.
I then integrated Relay with my Xero account. This was seamless. The transaction sync was nearly instantaneous and accurate. That’s probably the biggest time saver for me. Instead of manually categorizing transactions from a generic bank statement, Relay feeds clean data directly into Xero, already separated into my various expense ‘buckets’.
So, the decision came down to what mattered most. Airwallex is the absolute champion for international trade—better exchange rates, faster transfers, and multi-currency accounts that really work. If my business was 80% global transactions, Airwallex would win hands down.
But my reality is different. While international payments are crucial, domestic operations, payroll, bookkeeping, and budgeting consume most of my time. Relay’s focus on detailed account separation and deep integration with accounting software is just too valuable for simplifying my day-to-day financial management. Plus, their domestic fee structure is straightforward and generally low-cost for standard banking needs.
What I ended up doing? I decided to use Relay as my primary operating bank because of the superior bookkeeping features and domestic ease of use. But I kept Airwallex open specifically for those international transfers. I just move the necessary USD into Airwallex when I need to pay overseas suppliers. It’s a bit of a hybrid approach, but honestly, it captures the best features of both—minimal domestic friction with Relay, and maximum international efficiency with Airwallex. It took some juggling, but my monthly close process just got about 40% easier, and my international payment costs went down. Definitely worth the initial setup hassle.