Alright folks, time for another practical share from my side. Today, we’re diving into something everyone with international money moves cares about: speed. I decided to pit two heavyweights against each other—the old faithful SWIFT system and the newer kid on the block, Airwallex. I wasn’t interested in theoretical comparisons; I wanted actual timestamps on my own money transfers.
The Setup: Sending Money from Canada to the UK
I needed to move some Canadian Dollars (CAD) to British Pounds (GBP). My personal bank accounts and business setup allowed for a clean side-by-side test. I set up two identical transfers, same originating bank in Canada, same receiving bank in the UK (a major high street bank), and initiated them almost simultaneously.
Transfer 1: The SWIFT Experience
I used my usual commercial bank for the SWIFT transfer. It’s reliable, but boy, it makes you jump through hoops. Logged into the banking portal, filled out the forms—IBAN, BIC, reason for transfer, etc. Standard stuff, but it always feels clunky.
- Timestamp 1 (Initiation): Monday, 10:30 AM EST. Funds debited immediately from my account.
- The Wait: The status immediately went to “Processing.” I know SWIFT can be unpredictable. Sometimes it’s quick, sometimes it’s stuck in correspondent banks for ages. I didn’t get any proactive updates.
- Timestamp 2 (Arrival Notification): Wednesday, 4:15 PM GMT. My receiving UK bank notified me the funds had landed.
- Total Elapsed Time (SWIFT): Roughly 54 hours. That’s pretty typical for a cross-currency, cross-continent SWIFT payment when factoring in the time differences and clearing cycles.
The exchange rate wasn’t great either, let’s be honest. My bank took a chunky spread, plus a sending fee. But the main focus here was the time.
Transfer 2: The Airwallex Approach
This was the one I was curious about. I already had my Airwallex account set up. The process was super slick. I logged in, selected the transfer amount, and pointed it at the same receiving UK account.
- Timestamp 1 (Initiation): Monday, 10:45 AM EST. I started this transfer 15 minutes after the SWIFT one, just to keep things aligned without overloading the systems. Funds were debited quickly, and I immediately got confirmation that the transfer was processing via their local network rails.
- The Tracking: Unlike the black box of SWIFT, Airwallex gave me clear notifications. They showed the payment status moving from “processing” to “sent” very fast.
- Timestamp 2 (Arrival Notification): Monday, 1:20 PM GMT (UK Time). Yes, the SAME DAY. I actually had to double-check my phone because I wasn’t expecting it that fast.
- Total Elapsed Time (Airwallex): Approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes.
The Takeaway I Got from This
I was absolutely blown away by the difference. We’re talking 54 hours versus just under 3 hours. It’s not even a close competition when it comes to speed. Airwallex clearly leverages local payment schemes, avoiding the multiple intermediaries that bog down the SWIFT network.
For anyone running a business that needs to pay suppliers or receive funds internationally, time is absolutely money. Waiting two or three days for a payment to clear when you could have it in under three hours makes a massive practical difference for cash flow management.
I’ve done tests like this before, but this specific CAD to GBP route proved my hypothesis: if the platform can use local payment rails for both the sending and receiving country, the transfer time shrinks drastically. The cost was also significantly lower with Airwallex due to much tighter exchange rate spreads and minimal or no transfer fees depending on the volume.
So, there you have it. My current practical record shows Airwallex wiping the floor with the traditional SWIFT transfer speed. I’ll keep testing other routes and currencies, but for now, the winner is clear.