Head-to-Head
Brex Business Account
Startup / mid-market treasury + multi-user spend platform; $0 banking fees; no cash/ATM
Airwallex Business Account
Multi-currency SME wallet — $0 Explore, local rails + FX, cards/spend; not cash or branch banking
Monthly Fee
$0 banking. Software: Essentials $0/user; Premium $12/user; Enterprise custom.
Explore: $0/month per entity (US fee schedule — no published balance waiver). Grow: $12 per Spend User per month + additional Airwallex Platform fee (dollar amount Not disclosed). Accelerate/Custom: custom.
Checking APY
None — uninvested Checking cash earns no yield
None — wallet / Global Account balances have no advertised deposit APY. Do not label as checking APY.
Rating
8.6/10
8.4/10
Costs & Fees
| Metric | Brex Business Account | Airwallex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly maintenance | $0 banking. Software: Essentials $0/user; Premium $12/user; Enterprise custom. | Explore: $0/month per entity (US fee schedule — no published balance waiver). Grow: $12 per Spend User per month + additional Airwallex Platform fee (dollar amount Not disclosed). Accelerate/Custom: custom. |
| Fee waiver | N/A — banking already $0; software is plan-priced | N/A on Explore (already $0). Grow has no published balance waiver. Do not apply UK/EU/AU Explore waiver rules to U.S. |
| Transaction fees | No published per-item or excess-item fees. Effectively unlimited electronic items at $0. | No classic item-count checking fees. Cost drivers: FX, SWIFT/Fedwire, incoming Fedwire, exotic inbound %, Explore local-intl fees from 12 Oct 2026, optional acquiring, Grow seats. |
| Overdraft/NSF | Overdrafts not permitted. Dollar fee amounts not disclosed. Negative 30+ days → closure per Column DDA. | Not disclosed / not a published overdraft product |
| ATM fees | Not offered — no ATM network. No cash withdrawal from account or Brex cards. | Not disclosed. No ATM network marketed. CFSB card terms may allow ATM cash subject to limits/fees — product not designed as cash account. |
| Wire/ACH | Incoming/outgoing domestic and international wires $0 Brex-issued. ACH domestic and international $0. Intermediary/recipient fees possible. Customer reimburses intermediary costs per Column DDA. | Incoming US Fedwire into Global Accounts: $15. USA/Canada local networks in/out: $0. Outgoing FedWire/SWIFT SHA: $15; SWIFT OUR: $25. Incoming most currencies 0%; KRW/VND/BRL/MYR 0.60%. ACH/local USA-Canada $0 on SMB table. |
Interest & Yields
| Metric | Brex Business Account | Airwallex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Checking APY | None — uninvested Checking cash earns no yield | None — wallet / Global Account balances have no advertised deposit APY. Do not label as checking APY. |
| Savings APY | N/A — no separate FDIC savings product | |
| FDIC coverage | Checking: $250,000 at Column N.A. per ownership category (all sub-accounts share cap) | Eligible USD at U.S. partner banks: FDIC pass-through up to $250,000 per qualified customer per institution in customer beneficial interest (omnibus FBO). Not Airwallex’s own operating cash. |
Features & Access
| Metric | Brex Business Account | Airwallex Business Account |
|---|---|---|
| Branch/ATM network | None. No branches, ATMs, or cash rails. | None. No marketed ATM network. Cash access unreliable / not a design goal. |
| Mobile app | Google Play 4.6 (~2.16k–2.18k reviews). iOS U.S. rating should be re-checked live. | App Store US ~4.8/5 (~426 ratings, Aug 2025 scrape); AppBrain ~4.84 (~478); older Google Play ~4.2 — recheck live stores. |
| Virtual cards | Included — charge card product with spend limits and policies (Premium: multiple customizable policies) | Included — unlimited virtual on marketing; merchant/limit controls Explore; richer rules Grow+ |
| Opening deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Eligibility | U.S.-organized C-corp, S-corp, LLC, LLP only. Not sole props, consumers, unincorporated partnerships, or foreign-registered entities. Nonprofits case-by-case. | Legal business entity or sole proprietor; principal place of business in the United States (Airwallex US / Evolve). Corporation, unincorporated association, partnership, LLC, incorporated nonprofit, sole prop. Not for consumers/personal/household use. |
Pros & Cons
Brex Business Account
Pros
- $0 opening, maintenance, ACH, check, and wire fees (Brex-issued)
- Three-bucket design: Column DDA + up to $6M Vault sweep + DGVXX Treasury (3.71% as of 09/01/26)
- 512 sub-checking accounts with distinct account/routing numbers
- Same-day outbound ACH at $0; 3:15 p.m. ET cutoff documented
- Tight coupling to expense, bill-pay, virtual charge cards, and API
Cons
- No cash, no ATM, no branches
- Checking and Vault earn 0%; Treasury yield is MMF/SIPC, not FDIC checking APY
- Eligibility excludes sole props and foreign entities; scale screen plus abrupt closure history
- Checking FDIC only $250k across all sub-accounts; $6M is sweep-only with caveats
- Card FX up to 3%; Premium software $12/user; wire FX markup not published
Airwallex Business Account
Pros
- US Explore $0/month with no published minimum balance (US Fee Schedule, 18 Sep 2026)
- Transparent FX 0.50% majors / 1.00% others vs typical 2–4%+ bank markups
- Local-rail payouts and USA/Canada transfers $0; Grow/Accelerate exempt from Explore local-intl fees from 12 Oct 2026
- Local receiving in 20+ currencies reduces incoming international wire friction
- Cards + expense + bill pay + QBO/Xero on one wallet; Grow adds NetSuite-class controls; optional Yield ~3.3–3.6% net MMF
Cons
- Not a bank; FDIC pass-through $250k at partner banks (omnibus FBO); no advertised multi-bank sweep
- Yield is SIPC MMF — not FDIC and not checking APY
- No cash or check deposit rail
- Grow is $12 × Spend users + unpublished platform fee — hard to model from public docs
- Trustpilot 2.9/5 and freeze/hold complaint pattern; Explore has no dedicated RM; incoming Fedwire $15
Verdict
Brex Business Account
Brex business account is a three-bucket cash-management stack at Column N.A. (FDIC #58224, routing 121145349). Checking 0% APY with $250k FDIC shared across 512 sub-accounts. Vault sweeps to program banks for up to $6M FDIC (0% yield). Treasury in DGVXX via Brex Treasury LLC — up to 3.71% 7-day yield as of 09/01/26, not FDIC. Banking fees $0 on ACH/wires/checks. No cash/ATM/branches. Corp/LLC/LLP only; scale underwriting. Premium $12/user. Capital One acquired Brex Apr 2026. Closure risk is operational concern — keep backup bank. $1,000 card promo through Sep 30, 2026.
Airwallex Business Account
Airwallex US is a money transmitter with USD at partner banks (Evolve named for certain customers) — FDIC pass-through $250k, no advertised ICS sweep. Explore $0; Grow $12/Spend user + undisclosed platform fee. Wallet FX 0.50%/1.00%; USA/Canada local $0; SWIFT $15/$25; incoming Fedwire $15. No cash/checks. Optional Yield MMF ~3.33–3.60% net (22 Sep 2026) is SIPC not FDIC. Strong for FX-heavy digital firms; weak for cash, branch, and freeze-averse buyers given Trustpilot 2.9.