Accounting · head to head
Airwallex vs Medius Expense
Airwallex
Accounting
Multi currency business accounts, international payments and card issuing from a licensed payments firm rather than a bank
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Medius Expense
Accounting
Expense management, formerly Expensya, now the expense module of the Medius spend platform
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
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 Expense the Expensya name is being retired, so contracts, logins and support articles change identity mid-relationship and internal documentation has to be rewritten.
- They diverge on capability: Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Airwallex and Medius Expense actually diverge.
| Attribute | Airwallex | Medius Expense |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | freemium | quote |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web | Web, 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 Expense
- Receipt OCR
- Mileage and per diem
- VAT recovery
- Card reconciliation
- Approval workflows
- AP suite 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 Expense
- An agency or software company paying contractors across several countries every month and losing money on bank foreign exchange spreadsnot Medius Expense
- An e-commerce seller collecting on multiple marketplaces in different currencies who wants to hold rather than convert on every settlementnot Medius Expense
- A startup that needs virtual cards with per subscription limits and cannot get a workable card programme from its local banknot Medius Expense
Medius Expense
- A French or Spanish employer needing VAT-compliant receipt capture in local formats and languagesnot Airwallex
- A company already running Medius for supplier invoices that wants employee spend on the same platformnot Airwallex
- A finance team with heavy mileage claims needing statutory rates applied without spreadsheetsnot Airwallex
- A group consolidating several country expense tools into one European platformnot 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 Expense
- The Expensya name is being retired, so contracts, logins and support articles change identity mid-relationship and internal documentation has to be rewritten.
- It is now a module inside an accounts payable suite, so expense-specific roadmap items compete with supplier invoice work for engineering time.
- Pricing is not published and is discounted against bundling with Medius AP, which makes standalone expense quotes less competitive than they look.
- Strength is concentrated in Europe and the Maghreb; North American and Asian tax and mileage handling are thinner than the European coverage.
- It does not issue cards, so real-time spend controls are absent and it relies on card feed reconciliation after the fact.
Pricing, plan by plan
Airwallex
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Airwallex review.
Medius Expense
On request- Medius Expense$undefined/year
- Per-user subscription, quoted not published
- Tiering by feature set and entity count
- Implementation and OCR configuration fees
Which should you pick?
Choose Airwallex if
- You need multi currency balances.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want local receiving accounts.
Choose Medius Expense if
- You need receipt ocr.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want mileage and per diem.
Questions people ask
- Is Airwallex or Medius Expense better?
- Neither clearly leads. Airwallex starts at Free and Medius Expense at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Airwallex or Medius Expense?
- Airwallex has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Airwallex and On request for Medius Expense.
- Does Airwallex or Medius Expense run on more platforms?
- Airwallex runs on Web. Medius Expense 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 Expense 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 Expense is typically brought in for.
- What can Airwallex do that Medius Expense cannot?
- Airwallex covers Multi currency balances, Local receiving accounts, Foreign exchange conversion, International payouts. Medius Expense covers Receipt OCR, Mileage and per diem, VAT recovery, Card reconciliation.
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 Expense: Is Expensya still available?
Under that name, no. The product continues as Medius Expense, with the branding cutover on 30 September 2026 and no change to features or data.
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 Expense: Do I have to buy Medius AP as well?
No, but the commercial terms improve materially if you do, which is worth testing during negotiation.
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 Expense: Does it issue corporate cards?
No. It reconciles existing card feeds rather than issuing its own cards.
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.
Related pages
More on Medius Expense
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