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Airwallex vs PayU (2026): Which Is Better for Receiving International Payments in India?

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 28 October 2026
Last modified: 28 October 2026
Fees checked on: 28 October 2026
Reading time: 13 min read

Short answer

Neither Airwallex nor PayU publishes enough pricing to estimate the cost of a USD 5,000 receipt, so there is no cost verdict. The better choice depends on how your client pays: Airwallex is best for registered businesses paid by bank transfer, and PayU is best for card or PayPal checkout with INR settlement.¹²³

Use case	Better option	Why
Bank transfer of USD 5,000	Cannot compare	Neither publishes full pricing for this case.
Bank transfer of USD 2,000	Cannot compare	Neither publishes full pricing for this case.
Client paying USD 2,000 by card or link	Cannot compare	Neither publishes full pricing for this case.
Airwallex is best for	Airwallex	Registered businesses paid by bank transfer.¹²
PayU is best for	PayU	Card or PayPal checkout with INR settlement.³

Invoice amountCurrencyHow the client pays

1,000 USD = ₹94,243 at the reference rate for 13 November 2026 (European Central Bank data).

Estimated rupees received, on published fees

Sorted by estimated rupees received, highest first. Only providers that publish both their fee and their conversion markup for this currency and method can be estimated.

#	Provider and route	Best for	Fee (+GST)	Markup	You receive	Cost
1	Karbon BusinessLowest estimated costBank transfer to a Karbon virtual USD account	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts	₹942plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹93,131 to ₹93,301	1.00 to 1.18%
2	RazorpayMoneySaver Export Account: bank transfer to virtual account details (Standard plan)	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone	₹1,000plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹93,063 to ₹93,243	1.06 to 1.25%
3	WinvestaGlobal Collections Account, standard plan (up to 2,000 a month per currency)	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee	₹1,435	0%	₹92,809	1.52%
4	SkydoPayment link (InstaLinks) paid by ACH debit	Local bank transfers from major markets	₹1,885plus GST, rate not stated	0%	₹92,019 to ₹92,358	2.00 to 2.36%
5	PayoneerLocal bank transfer to Payoneer receiving account details	Marketplace payouts such as Amazon or Upwork	₹0no GST stated	1 to 4%	₹90,473 to ₹93,301	1.00 to 4.00%
6	PayPalInternational commercial transaction received into a PayPal account (PayPal checkout or invoice)	Clients paying by card or PayPal balance	₹4,175no GST stated	3 to 4%	₹86,465 to ₹87,366	7.30 to 8.25%

Not estimated because pricing is not fully published: Cashfree Payments, Dodo Payments, PingPong, Stripe, Tazapay, TransFi, Wise.

Where a provider says GST applies to its fee but not at what rate, the range runs from no GST to 18%, the rate Skydo, Stripe and Winvesta state on their pages. Estimates use each provider's published fee, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charge, checked 2026-10-28, against the reference rate. They exclude charges taken by intermediary banks and your own bank, and the rate a provider actually applies at the time of conversion. Check the provider's pricing page before you choose. The order is calculated only from these published numbers; no provider can pay to change its position, and there are no affiliate links.

How do Airwallex and PayU compare at a glance?

Airwallex and PayU compare on the twelve points below, using each provider's published information as checked on 28 October 2026. Where a provider does not publish something, the table says so.⁴⁵

	Airwallex	PayU
Best for	Registered businesses paid by bank transfer¹²	Card or PayPal checkout with INR settlement³
Fees	Singapore fee schedule: 0% for collections in most currencies; 0.60% for KRW, VND, BRL and MYR collections. A fee for incoming SWIFT payments is not listed.⁴	3% for international transactions under the Standard Plan, GST extra. No separate bank transfer receiving fee is published because PayU does not publish a bank transfer collection route.⁵
FX markup	Singapore fee schedule: 0.40% mark-up for major currencies (AUD, USD, HKD, CNY, JPY, EUR, GBP, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD); 0.60% for a list that includes INR; a 1.00% Auto Conversion Fee is listed without a definition. How the margin applies to a USD to INR conversion is not published.⁴⁶	Converted to INR at the rate on the transaction date; PayU says it applies exchange rate or margins on the card issuing currency for dynamic currency conversion. The margin is not published.³⁷
Settlement	Airwallex's docs give 0 to 2 business days for local INR payouts to India and 0 to 3 business days for SWIFT payouts to India.⁸	Typically T+2 business days for international payments.³⁷
FIRA	Airwallex says an FIRC is issued by an authorised bank in India; you request it from Airwallex support through the chatbot in the web app, and Airwallex coordinates with its banking partner. Airwallex says there may be a fee, set by the banking partner. The amount is not published.⁹	PayU says it provides a FIRC on request through the merchant's Key Account Manager. The cost is not published.⁷
Currencies	Airwallex says Global Accounts collect in 20+ currencies. The list available to an India-registered business is not published.⁶²	PayU says it accepts payments in 135+ currencies and can show local prices in 27 currencies.³⁷
KYC: who can sign up	India-registered companies and LLPs, proprietorships and partnerships, and MSMEs, per Airwallex's India document list. Proprietorships and partnerships need a GST Registration Certificate. No route for unregistered individual freelancers is listed.¹	PayU's account activation checklist covers individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLPs, private and public limited companies and other entity types. International payments must be enabled separately through a PayU Key Account Manager; PayU does not publish which entity types are eligible for them.¹⁰¹¹
RBI PA-CB status	Airwallex's help centre lists India as a supported registration location, with the business onboarded by the Airwallex Singapore entity. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. says it is licensed in Singapore as a Major Payment Institution. Airwallex does not appear under the name Airwallex in RBI's list of authorised payment system operators (including PA-CB) as on 16 October 2026, nor in RBI's status of PA applications as on the same date.¹²⁴¹³¹⁴	The RBI lists PayU Payments Private Limited as a Payment Aggregator (online and physical) and as PA-CB I & O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating inward and outward transactions, in its list dated 16 October 2026.¹³
Support	Help centre and support request form; for FIRC requests Airwallex directs users to the chatbot in the logged-in web app. India-specific support channels are not published.⁶⁹	Existing merchants raise a ticket at help.payu.in or email care@payu.in; new merchants are directed to their account manager or care@payu.in for international rates.³
Limits	Airwallex's docs list no maximum transaction limit for local INR or SWIFT payouts to India. Limits for India-registered account holders are not published.⁸	PayU does not publish a limit for export receipts. RBI rules set a limit of ₹25 lakh per export transaction for PA-CBs.³¹⁵
How clients pay	Local bank transfer or SWIFT to Global Account details (for example USD in the United States by ACH or Fedwire, GBP by Faster Payments, EUR by SEPA). Airwallex says restrictions apply by onboarding entity and does not publish which accounts an India-registered business receives. Card acceptance availability for India-registered businesses is not published.²¹⁶	International credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and PayPal at a PayU checkout. PayU does not publish local bank account details or virtual accounts for foreign clients to pay by bank transfer.³¹¹
Card payments	Singapore pricing: 3.30% for domestic cards and 3.60% for international cards, plus a SG$0.50 gateway fee per transaction. Airwallex says the company must be registered in an eligible country for the payment method; whether India is eligible is not published on the pages checked.⁴¹⁶	Yes. International card transactions fall under PayU's 3% Standard Plan slab, GST extra.⁵

How much INR do you receive on $2,000, $5,000 and $10,000 with Airwallex vs PayU?

The INR you receive with Airwallex and PayU is the invoice at the reference rate, less each provider's fee, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charge. The table works this out from published pricing at today's rate.

None of these providers publishes both a fee and a conversion markup for USD.

Ranked by INR received on USD 5,000. Reference rate: European Central Bank data for 13 November 2026. Fees, conversion markup, GST on fees and FIRA charges as published by each provider, checked 28 October 2026. Ranges appear where a provider publishes a range or does not state its GST rate. Intermediary bank charges are excluded. See the methodology.

What is Airwallex and who is it for?

Airwallex is a global business account and payments company; its help centre lists India as a registration location onboarded by its Singapore entity, and it publishes no India-specific pricing page.¹²⁶

Regulated by: Airwallex's help centre lists India as a supported registration location, with the business onboarded by the Airwallex Singapore entity. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. says it is licensed in Singapore as a Major Payment Institution. Airwallex does not appear under the name Airwallex in RBI's list of authorised payment system operators (including PA-CB) as on 16 October 2026, nor in RBI's status of PA applications as on the same date.¹²⁴¹³¹⁴
Used by: India-registered companies and LLPs, proprietorships and partnerships, and MSMEs, per Airwallex's India document list. Proprietorships and partnerships need a GST Registration Certificate. No route for unregistered individual freelancers is listed.¹
Best for: Registered businesses paid by bank transfer.¹²

What is PayU and who is it for?

PayU is an Indian payment gateway that the RBI lists as a cross-border payment aggregator for inward and outward transactions; its international payments product lets Indian merchants accept foreign cards and PayPal and settles in INR.¹³³

Regulated by: The RBI lists PayU Payments Private Limited as a Payment Aggregator (online and physical) and as PA-CB I & O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating inward and outward transactions, in its list dated 16 October 2026.¹³
Used by: PayU's account activation checklist covers individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLPs, private and public limited companies and other entity types. International payments must be enabled separately through a PayU Key Account Manager; PayU does not publish which entity types are eligible for them.¹⁰¹¹
Best for: Card or PayPal checkout with INR settlement.³

How do Airwallex and PayU fees and FX markup compare?

Airwallex and PayU charge in different ways, so compare the fee and the conversion markup together, not the headline fee alone.

What does Airwallex charge?

Transaction type	Fee	FX markup	GST on fees	Best for
Local transfer to Global Account details (Singapore fee schedule)	0%⁴¹²⁹	0.6%	Not stated	Clients paying by local bank transfer
Card acceptance, international cards (Singapore fee schedule)	3.6% + SGD 0.5⁴⁹	0.6%	Not stated	Clients paying by card

What does PayU charge?

Transaction type	Fee	FX markup	GST on fees	Best for
International card or PayPal transaction at PayU checkout (Standard plan)	3%⁵⁷	Not published	Not stated	Clients paying by card

How do Airwallex and PayU compare on settlement speed?

Airwallex and PayU publish these settlement times for money reaching an Indian bank account.

Platform	Settlement time	Payout to India	Best for
Airwallex	Airwallex's docs give 0 to 2 business days for local INR payouts to India and 0 to 3 business days for SWIFT payouts to India.⁸	Airwallex pays out to Indian bank accounts in INR by NEFT, IMPS, RTGS or iACH, or by SWIFT in foreign currencies. The Singapore fee schedule lists local payouts at $0 and SWIFT payouts at $20 (SHA) or $35 (OUR). Whether payout to your own Indian account is automatic is not published.⁸⁴	Registered businesses paid by bank transfer¹²
PayU	Typically T+2 business days for international payments.³⁷	Settled automatically to the merchant's bank account in INR; PayU's documentation also mentions non-INR settlement. No separate payout fee is published for standard settlement; priority or same-day settlement may carry a nominal fee that is not published.³¹¹⁵	Card or PayPal checkout with INR settlement³

Do Airwallex and PayU provide FIRA and e-BRC, and are they RBI PA-CB authorised?

Airwallex and PayU publish the FIRA position and RBI status below, checked on 28 October 2026. An e-BRC is generated by the exporter on the DGFT portal from bank remittance data, so it does not depend on the provider issuing one.³⁶

Platform	FIRA	RBI PA-CB status	Best for
Airwallex	Airwallex says an FIRC is issued by an authorised bank in India; you request it from Airwallex support through the chatbot in the web app, and Airwallex coordinates with its banking partner. Airwallex says there may be a fee, set by the banking partner. The amount is not published.⁹	Airwallex's help centre lists India as a supported registration location, with the business onboarded by the Airwallex Singapore entity. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. says it is licensed in Singapore as a Major Payment Institution. Airwallex does not appear under the name Airwallex in RBI's list of authorised payment system operators (including PA-CB) as on 16 October 2026, nor in RBI's status of PA applications as on the same date.¹²⁴¹³¹⁴	Registered businesses paid by bank transfer¹²
PayU	PayU says it provides a FIRC on request through the merchant's Key Account Manager. The cost is not published.⁷	The RBI lists PayU Payments Private Limited as a Payment Aggregator (online and physical) and as PA-CB I & O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating inward and outward transactions, in its list dated 16 October 2026.¹³	Card or PayPal checkout with INR settlement³

Which currencies, countries and payment methods do Airwallex and PayU support?

Airwallex and PayU accept the currencies and payment methods below, as each publishes them.

Platform	Currencies	How clients pay	Card payments	Best for
Airwallex	Airwallex says Global Accounts collect in 20+ currencies. The list available to an India-registered business is not published.⁶²	Local bank transfer or SWIFT to Global Account details (for example USD in the United States by ACH or Fedwire, GBP by Faster Payments, EUR by SEPA). Airwallex says restrictions apply by onboarding entity and does not publish which accounts an India-registered business receives. Card acceptance availability for India-registered businesses is not published.²¹⁶	Singapore pricing: 3.30% for domestic cards and 3.60% for international cards, plus a SG$0.50 gateway fee per transaction. Airwallex says the company must be registered in an eligible country for the payment method; whether India is eligible is not published on the pages checked.⁴¹⁶	Registered businesses paid by bank transfer¹²
PayU	PayU says it accepts payments in 135+ currencies and can show local prices in 27 currencies.³⁷	International credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and PayPal at a PayU checkout. PayU does not publish local bank account details or virtual accounts for foreign clients to pay by bank transfer.³¹¹	Yes. International card transactions fall under PayU's 3% Standard Plan slab, GST extra.⁵	Card or PayPal checkout with INR settlement³

What are the strengths and limitations of Airwallex and PayU?

Airwallex and PayU each suit some exporters better than others. These points come from each provider's own pages.

What are the strengths and limitations of Airwallex?

Strengths:

Your business is a registered Indian company, LLP, partnership or GST-registered proprietorship that wants local account details abroad for clients paying by bank transfer.¹²
You also pay overseas suppliers or contractors and want one account for collections and payouts in several currencies.⁶⁴
You are comfortable requesting an FIRC from support for each transaction rather than receiving one automatically.⁹

Limitations:

Airwallex does not appear under the name Airwallex in RBI's list of authorised payment aggregators, including PA-CB, as on 16 October 2026.¹³¹⁴
There is no India pricing page; India-registered businesses are onboarded by the Singapore entity, whose fee schedule does not mention India.¹²⁴
The India document list requires a GST Registration Certificate for proprietorships and partnerships, and lists no route for unregistered individual freelancers.¹
The FIRC is issued on request through support, and its fee is set by a banking partner and not published.⁹
Purpose code handling for receipts into India is not published.³⁷
SWIFT payouts cost $20 (SHA) or $35 (OUR) under the Singapore fee schedule.⁴

What are the strengths and limitations of PayU?

Strengths:

Your foreign clients prefer to pay by international card or PayPal on a checkout page and you want INR settlement.³
You want a provider listed by the RBI as a cross-border payment aggregator for inward transactions.¹³
You already use PayU for domestic payments and want international payments enabled on the same integration.¹¹

Limitations:

No bank transfer collection route (local account details for foreign clients) is published; the international product is card and wallet based.³¹¹
The exchange margin on conversion to INR is not published.⁷
International payments must be enabled through a Key Account Manager, and the FIRC is also requested through the account manager.¹¹⁷
PA-CB export transactions are limited to ₹25 lakh each under RBI rules.¹⁵
Priority settlement fees and the conditions behind the Standard Plan's terms and conditions note are not published.⁵

Should you choose Airwallex or PayU?

Choose between Airwallex and PayU by how your clients pay and your usual invoice size.

Choose Airwallex if:

Your business is a registered Indian company, LLP, partnership or GST-registered proprietorship that wants local account details abroad for clients paying by bank transfer.¹²
You also pay overseas suppliers or contractors and want one account for collections and payouts in several currencies.⁶⁴
You are comfortable requesting an FIRC from support for each transaction rather than receiving one automatically.⁹

Choose PayU if:

Your foreign clients prefer to pay by international card or PayPal on a checkout page and you want INR settlement.³
You want a provider listed by the RBI as a cross-border payment aggregator for inward transactions.¹³
You already use PayU for domestic payments and want international payments enabled on the same integration.¹¹

For example, say a designer invoices a US client USD 2,000. Because neither provider does not publish full pricing for that case, ask for a quote in writing and compare it with the FIRA rate after the first payment.⁴⁶³⁷

Which other platforms should you consider besides Airwallex and PayU?

Other platforms to consider besides Airwallex and PayU are the ones with the lowest estimated cost on a USD 5,000 receipt, listed in that order.¹⁸¹⁹²⁰²¹²²²³²⁵²⁶²⁸²⁹³¹³³³⁴³⁵

Platform	Best for	Estimated cost on USD 5,000	FIRA	Review
Skydo	Local bank transfers from major markets¹⁷	0.68%¹⁸¹⁹²⁰²¹²²²³	Skydo says it issues a free FIRA on every payment received, and that its FIRA and FIRC are accepted for GST filing and by banks.²²²⁴	Skydo review
Karbon Business	US bank transfers and marketplace payouts²⁵	1.00 to 1.18%²⁵²⁶	Karbon says it provides a FIRA for every transaction, issued by its licensed banking partner, which it does not name. Cost not published.²⁵	Karbon Business review
Razorpay	Local transfers from the US, UK and eurozone²⁷	1.00 to 1.18%²⁸²⁹	Razorpay provides a Foreign Inward Remittance Statement (FIRS), sent to the contact email within 24 hours after settlement for bank transfers, and downloadable from the dashboard, which shows bank-provided certificates and Razorpay-generated statements. The pricing page lists FIRC or eFIRC as included and auto-generated for international cards. No separate charge is published.²⁷³⁰²⁹	Razorpay review
Winvesta	Local transfers with a published per-payment fee³¹³²	1.24%³¹³³³⁴³⁵	Free e-FIRA, emailed within 24 hours of funds reaching the Indian bank account and downloadable from the dashboard; it shows the purpose code and exchange rate.³⁴³³	Winvesta review

Compare every provider on your own invoice in the platform cost comparison.

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 28 October 2026. Provider fees, conversion markups and RBI payment aggregator (PA-CB) status were checked on 28 October 2026. Rupee amounts use European Central Bank reference rates for 13 November 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper for Indian exporters, Airwallex or PayU?+

There is no cost verdict for a USD 5,000 bank transfer: neither publishes full pricing for this case.⁴⁶³⁷ The answer can change with the currency, payment method and invoice size, so check your own numbers in the platform cost comparison.

Do Airwallex and PayU give a FIRA to Indian exporters?+

Airwallex: Airwallex says an FIRC is issued by an authorised bank in India; you request it from Airwallex support through the chatbot in the web app, and Airwallex coordinates with its banking partner. Airwallex says there may be a fee, set by the banking partner. The amount is not published.⁹ PayU: PayU says it provides a FIRC on request through the merchant's Key Account Manager. The cost is not published.⁷

Can individual freelancers use Airwallex and PayU?+

Airwallex: India-registered companies and LLPs, proprietorships and partnerships, and MSMEs, per Airwallex's India document list. Proprietorships and partnerships need a GST Registration Certificate. No route for unregistered individual freelancers is listed.¹ PayU: PayU's account activation checklist covers individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLPs, private and public limited companies and other entity types. International payments must be enabled separately through a PayU Key Account Manager; PayU does not publish which entity types are eligible for them.¹⁰¹¹

Are Airwallex and PayU authorised by the RBI?+

Airwallex: Airwallex's help centre lists India as a supported registration location, with the business onboarded by the Airwallex Singapore entity. Airwallex (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. says it is licensed in Singapore as a Major Payment Institution. Airwallex does not appear under the name Airwallex in RBI's list of authorised payment system operators (including PA-CB) as on 16 October 2026, nor in RBI's status of PA applications as on the same date.¹²⁴¹³¹⁴ PayU: The RBI lists PayU Payments Private Limited as a Payment Aggregator (online and physical) and as PA-CB I & O, a cross-border payment aggregator facilitating inward and outward transactions, in its list dated 16 October 2026.¹³

How fast do Airwallex and PayU pay out to an Indian bank?+

Airwallex: Airwallex's docs give 0 to 2 business days for local INR payouts to India and 0 to 3 business days for SWIFT payouts to India.⁸ PayU: Typically T+2 business days for international payments.³⁷

Do I still need an LUT if I am paid through Airwallex or PayU?+

Yes, if you are registered under GST and want to invoice the export without IGST. The Letter of Undertaking is a GST filing for the financial year, and it does not depend on how the money reaches you, whether through Airwallex, PayU or a bank wire.³⁸

This page is general information for Indian service exporters, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your facts, so confirm with a chartered accountant before acting.

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