Does Your Business Need a Multicurrency Account? How Wise, Airwallex Work

A multicurrency account lets your business receive and spend funds in multiple currencies. That way, you avoid always having to convert money to your home currency to use it.

In other words: Imagine your wallet after traveling through several countries. At the beginning of your trip, you might have bills in all the currencies you’ll need. Afterward, you’ll probably have leftover bills and coins from each place you went.

If you want to convert that money back to your home currency, you have to visit a currency exchange (and pay a pretty steep fee) to swap that cash for your home currency.

A multicurrency account provides both the wallet and the exchange service. It lets you hold and spend multiple currencies, or seamlessly swap them for one another.

Not exactly. Many popular multicurrency accounts for U.S. businesses — like Wise and Airwallex — come from money transmitters. These services are still licensed and regulated, but not the same way as business bank accounts.

Most notably, bank accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protect your holdings. If that bank failed, the government would make you whole (up to $250,000 per depositor, per institution, per ownership type). That may not be the case if a money transmitter goes out of business.

These companies do safeguard your funds. Wise, for instance, says it keeps customer funds separate from company funds. But it also notes that you may not get all your money back if Wise were to become insolvent.


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Some FDIC-insured banks have multicurrency accounts (like those listed here). These may only be available to large organizations, though. Also, funds you don’t keep in USD aren’t covered by FDIC insurance.

In general, multicurrency accounts include a sub-account for each currency you hold. But those sub-accounts act like separate entities.

For instance, a sub-account would have its own International Bank Account Number (IBAN) or other account number local to a country. That way, businesses can pay you in their local currency via ACH or wire transfer. And you can do the same.

When you have one currency on hand but need another, you can make the conversion within your account and transfer money from one sub-account to another. You pay a fee to do this. But it’s typically less expensive than third-party services.

Converting currency via a bank is a multi-step process. Here’s what typically happens at a high level:

1. The value is determined. Currencies have “buy” and “sell” rates. These specify how much you’ll get when the provider buys your money (e.g., 1.17 USD per EUR), and how much the provider can sell it for (e.g., 1.25 USD per EUR).

2. Banks may add other fees. An institution can profit via the spread between buy and sell rates. On top of that, it may still charge service, foreign transaction or other fees that decrease the value of your money.

3. You initiate the transfer. After you know how much you’ll get for your exchange, you can start this process.

Payoneer is a great option for freelancers and digital nomads who prefer a simple and straightforward tool. It provides features like invoicing, accepting credit card payments, receiving payments from marketplaces, and making batch payments to suppliers. However, it does not include a card, so funds need to be transferred to a local bank.

Payoneer supports more than 40 transaction currencies, but payouts are only available in five major currencies. It allows integration with platforms like Shopify, Upwork, Airbnb, and Fiverr for direct payments. A Payoneer card is available for global use with applicable currency conversion fees.

Payoneer, like Wise, is a licensed money transmitter in the U.S. It does not offer traditional banking products such as savings accounts or debit cards.

• Payoneer supports more than 40 transaction currencies, but payouts are only available in five major currencies. It allows integration with platforms like Shopify, Upwork, Airbnb, and Fiverr for direct payments. A Payoneer card is available for global use with applicable currency conversion fees.

• Platforms like Shopify, Upwork, Airbnb, and Fiverr can pay directly into Payoneer accounts. Fees vary depending on the marketplace.

• Payoneer offers a card that can be used globally at ATMs and merchants, with currency conversion and fees applicable.

Fees:

Payoneer charges the real-time exchange rate plus a 0.5% fee for currency conversion. There are no monthly fees.

Revolut Business is ideal for companies with multiple employees needing access to a multicurrency account. It integrates with accounting and HR software and offers robust teamwide expense management features. For some businesses, Revolut’s tools can be comparable to corporate credit card offerings.

Revolut is a pricier option compared to others on the list, starting at $10 per month. Businesses with higher transaction volumes may find value in more expensive plans with increased limits.

Unlike Wise, Revolut is licensed as a bank in certain jurisdictions, including the European Economic Area. In the U.S., banking services and cards are provided by Lead Bank, a member of FDIC.

• Revolut offers a prepaid business card issued by Lead Bank for spending account funds.

• Expense management tools include receipt matching, expense categorization, and integration with accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero.

Fees:

Revolut’s plans start at $10 per month. The plan includes currency conversions up to $1,000 per month without a markup, with a 0.6% fee after that. Revolut also sets its own exchange rates.