Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Airwallex vs Medius

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
Medius logo

Medius

Accounting

Accounts payable automation and supplier payments for mid-market finance teams, Marlin Equity owned

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.; Medius the sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • They diverge on capability: Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Medius covers Invoice capture and coding.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airwallex and Medius actually diverge.

Attributes where Airwallex and Medius differ
AttributeAirwallexMedius
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 Medius

  • Invoice capture and coding
  • Matching and exception handling
  • Fraud and anomaly detection
  • Supplier payments
  • Approval workflow
  • ERP integration

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 Medius
  • An agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreadsnot Medius
  • An e-commerce seller collecting on multiple marketplaces in different currencies who wants to hold rather than convert on every settlementnot Medius
  • A startup that needs virtual cards with per subscription limits and cannot get a workable card programme from its local banknot Medius

Medius

  • A mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match againstnot Airwallex
  • A group with several legal entities on different ERPs that wants one AP process across all of themnot Airwallex
  • Reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changesnot Airwallex
  • Replacing a scanning bureau and a shared AP inbox with automated capture and exception-based reviewnot 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.

Medius

  • The sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • Pricing is quote-only and driven by invoice volume, so a business with many low-value invoices pays disproportionately relative to the spend being controlled.
  • Payments are billed on transaction volume separately from the AP subscription, which is easy to omit from a cost comparison against a licence-only AP tool.
  • Private equity ownership since 2017 has produced an acquisition-driven product line, so payments and adjacent capability come from bought-in technology rather than the original platform.
  • ERP integration depth varies sharply by system, and organisations on less common or heavily customised ERPs face integration work that lengthens the implementation.

Pricing, plan by plan

Airwallex

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Airwallex review.

Medius

On request
  • Medius AP Automation$undefined/year
    • Two packaged AP automation tiers
    • Priced by invoice volume and entity count
    • Sourcing, contracts and procurement modules sold separately

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 Medius if

  • You need invoice capture and coding.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want matching and exception handling.
Medius review

Questions people ask

Is Airwallex or Medius better?
Neither clearly leads. Airwallex starts at Free and Medius at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airwallex or Medius?
Airwallex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airwallex and On request for Medius.
Does Airwallex or Medius run on more platforms?
Airwallex runs on Web. Medius runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Airwallex for free?
Yes. Airwallex has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Medius 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 Medius is typically brought in for.
What can Airwallex do that Medius cannot?
Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Local receiving accounts, Foreign exchange conversion, International payouts. Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Matching and exception handling, Fraud and anomaly detection, Supplier payments.

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.

Medius: Is Medius a procurement suite or an AP tool?

Primarily an AP automation platform with procurement modules attached. If sourcing is your main requirement, look elsewhere.

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.

Medius: Who owns Medius?

Marlin Equity Partners, which acquired it in 2017 and has funded several bolt-on acquisitions since.

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.

Medius: How is it priced?

By quote, driven by invoice volume and entity count, with payments billed separately on transaction volume.

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.

Medius: Does it replace our ERP?

No. It sits alongside the ERP and posts approved invoices into it.

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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