Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Airwallex vs Happay

Airwallex logo

Airwallex

Accounting

Multi currency business accounts, international payments and card issuing from a licensed payments firm rather than a bank

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Happay logo

Happay

Accounting

Indian travel, expense and corporate card platform, now owned by MakeMyTrip

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Airwallex has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Airwallex airwallex is a licensed payments firm rather than a bank, so balances sit in safeguarding accounts at partner banks and are not covered by deposit guarantee schemes, which means a treasury policy that requires insured deposits cannot hold operating cash there.; Happay the platform has changed owner twice since 2021, from founders to CRED to MakeMyTrip, and each transition has meant leadership churn and roadmap reprioritisation.
  • They diverge on capability: Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Happay covers GST-aware capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airwallex and Happay actually diverge.

Attributes where Airwallex and Happay differ
AttributeAirwallexHappay
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airwallex

  • Multi currency balances
  • Local receiving accounts
  • Foreign exchange conversion
  • International payouts
  • Card issuing
  • Expense management
  • Bill pay
  • Payments gateway

Only in Happay

  • GST-aware capture
  • Corporate cards
  • Self-booking travel
  • Cash advances
  • Approval matrix
  • Analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airwallex

  • An exporter invoicing customers in United States dollars and euros who wants to be paid into local details rather than receive wires with correspondent deductionsnot Happay
  • An agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreadsnot Happay
  • An e-commerce seller collecting on multiple marketplaces in different currencies who wants to hold rather than convert on every settlementnot Happay
  • A startup that needs virtual cards with per subscription limits and cannot get a workable card programme from its local banknot Happay

Happay

  • An Indian enterprise needing GST input credit fields captured at the point of expense submissionnot Airwallex
  • A company with field sales staff needing rupee prepaid cards with merchant category limitsnot Airwallex
  • A finance team replacing a spreadsheet-and-email cash advance process with a tracked workflownot Airwallex
  • An Indian group wanting travel booking and expense from one supplier with domestic content depthnot Airwallex

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airwallex

  • Airwallex is a licensed payments firm rather than a bank, so balances sit in safeguarding accounts at partner banks and are not covered by deposit guarantee schemes, which means a treasury policy that requires insured deposits cannot hold operating cash there.
  • Available currencies, local account details, card programmes and product features differ by the entity you contract with, so a feature demonstrated to a customer in Australia or Singapore may simply not exist for the same company registered in another country.
  • Onboarding is subject to compliance review and whole categories of business are declined or later offboarded, and because the account may hold operating cash, a compliance freeze during a review is a business interruption rather than an inconvenience.
  • Foreign exchange is quoted as interbank plus a markup, which is cheaper than a high street bank but is still a spread that widens on less liquid pairs and on smaller amounts, so the saving assumed in the business case should be checked against the pairs you actually trade.
  • Support is largely ticket and chat based with account management reserved for larger customers, so when a payment is stuck the resolution path is a queue rather than a named person, which is a poor fit for time critical settlement.

Happay

  • The platform has changed owner twice since 2021, from founders to CRED to MakeMyTrip, and each transition has meant leadership churn and roadmap reprioritisation.
  • It is now owned by an online travel agency, so the incentive is to grow travel bookings, and expense-only customers are not the strategic centre of the product.
  • Card issuance depends on partner bank relationships, so limits, approval times and product features are constrained by a bank the customer does not choose.
  • Coverage is overwhelmingly India-specific, which makes it unsuitable as a group-wide platform for companies with foreign subsidiaries.
  • Integration depth outside common Indian ERP and accounting systems is thin, and connecting a global SAP instance usually needs bespoke work.

Pricing, plan by plan

Airwallex

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Airwallex review.

Happay

On request
  • Happay$undefined/year
    • Quoted per-user or per-transaction subscription
    • Card programme terms set with the partner bank
    • Travel booking fees separate from expense subscription

Which should you pick?

Choose Airwallex if

  • You need multi currency balances.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want local receiving accounts.
Airwallex review

Choose Happay if

  • You need gst-aware capture.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want corporate cards.
Happay review

Questions people ask

Is Airwallex or Happay better?
Neither clearly leads. Airwallex starts at Free and Happay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airwallex or Happay?
Airwallex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airwallex and On request for Happay.
Does Airwallex or Happay run on more platforms?
Airwallex runs on Web. Happay runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Airwallex for free?
Yes. Airwallex has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Happay starts at On request.
What is Airwallex best used for?
Airwallex is most often used for an exporter invoicing customers in united states dollars and euros who wants to be paid into local details rather than receive wires with correspondent deductions, an agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreads, an e-commerce seller collecting on multiple marketplaces in different currencies who wants to hold rather than convert on every settlement, a startup that needs virtual cards with per subscription limits and cannot get a workable card programme from its local bank. Of those, an exporter invoicing customers in united states dollars and euros who wants to be paid into local details rather than receive wires with correspondent deductions and an agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreads are not what Happay is typically brought in for.
What can Airwallex do that Happay cannot?
Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Local receiving accounts, Foreign exchange conversion, International payouts. Happay covers GST-aware capture, Corporate cards, Self-booking travel, Cash advances.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airwallex: Is Airwallex a bank?

No. It holds payment institution, electronic money or equivalent licences in the markets it serves. Funds are safeguarded at partner banks rather than being deposits, and deposit insurance schemes do not apply.

Happay: Who owns Happay now?

MakeMyTrip. It agreed in November 2024 to acquire the expense management platform, brand and team from CRED, which had bought Happay in 2021.

Airwallex: Can it replace my business bank account?

For many operating flows it can, but consider what you lose: no deposit protection, no lending relationship, no cash or cheque handling, and some counterparties and government bodies still expect a conventional bank account. Most users run it alongside a bank rather than instead of one.

Happay: Can it be used outside India?

It books international travel for Indian entities, but the expense and card sides are built for Indian tax and banking and do not serve foreign entities well.

Airwallex: Which countries can open an account?

It serves entities registered in a defined list of markets across Asia Pacific, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and North America, and the list changes. Check for your specific country of incorporation, because the answer determines both eligibility and feature set.

Happay: Does Happay issue its own cards?

It issues cards through partner banks rather than under its own banking licence, so card terms follow the partner.

Airwallex: Does it connect to my accounting software?

It integrates with the mainstream cloud ledgers so transactions feed through rather than being imported by hand. Confirm the integration covers all the currencies you hold, since multi currency handling in the ledger is a separate question.

Airwallex: How does the foreign exchange rate compare with a bank?

Materially better than a typical business bank's retail rate on major pairs, because it is quoted as interbank plus a stated markup. The gap narrows on thin currency pairs and small amounts, so test with your real volumes.

Airwallex: Are the cards accepted everywhere?

They are issued on the major networks and behave like ordinary company cards for most spend. Some merchants, particularly for deposits and car hire, treat prepaid style issuance differently, so do not assume parity with a bank credit card.

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