How to start a business in South Africa from the UK
Essential tips for launching a business in South Africa, including regulations and opportunities for growth in the market.
Whether Airwallex is more suitable for your business than Revolut Business (or vice versa), it all comes down to two things - features and fees.
To help you make an informed decision, we've covered both providers' features and fees in detail in this guide.
| 💡 Have you considered Wise Business? |
|---|
| If you want a globally oriented business account without an ongoing subscription, consider Wise Business. There are no subscription fees, and Wise Business offers a free Essential plan for basic spending and transferring. If you need to receive money, set up direct debits, or generate invoices, you'll pay a one-time £50 setup fee to unlock the Advanced features. |
⚠️ Note: Provider features, fees, eligibility checks, protections, and timelines mentioned in this article may vary by customer, business type, application outcome, and country. Check the provider’s website and terms and conditions for the most accurate and up-to-date information.
| Provider | Features | Plans and Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Airwallex | Global accounts with local bank details in 20+ currencies, international batch transfers, multi-currency company and employee cards, payment links, online payment acceptance, invoicing, accounting integrations and Core API access.1 | Explore is £0 or £19 a month, Grow is £49 a month and Accelerate starts from £999 a month. FX, transfer, payment-processing and active-spend-user fees can apply in addition to the plan fee.1 |
| Revolut Business | Tiered account plans with cards, payment tools, global and local account details, transfers, FX, accounting integrations and payment acceptance. Included allowances increase with the plan.2,3 | Basic is £10 a month, Grow is £35 a month, Scale is £125 a month and Enterprise has custom pricing. Transfer and FX allowances, then overage fees, vary by plan.3,4,5,6 |
Airwallex is particularly relevant if payment acceptance sits alongside the rest of your financial operations. Its Explore plan includes accounts with local bank details in 20+ currencies, free local transfers to 120+ countries, international batch transfers, multi-currency company and employee cards, payment links, online card and local payment-method acceptance, invoicing, accounting integrations and Core API access.1
The platform also offers spend-management tools. According to Airwallex's corporate cards page, its cards can be used by company and employee cardholders, spend directly from held balances, and include controls, spending limits and real-time activity visibility.7
This makes Airwallex worth comparing if you want an account, card programme, payment acceptance and technical integrations in the same ecosystem. If you only need straightforward domestic account features, that breadth may be more than you need.
Revolut Business currently offers tiered plans for businesses that want account features, cards, payment tools, transfers and currency management.2
| Plan | Features |
|---|---|
| Basic | Plastic and virtual company cards, 10 local transfers per month, unlimited Revolut-to-Revolut transfers, a £1,000 monthly FX allowance and payment tools.2,3 |
| Grow | 100 local transfers per month, five international transfers per month, a £15,000 monthly FX allowance, one metal card included per business and payment-processing tools.2,4 |
| Scale | 1,000 local transfers per month, 25 international transfers per month, a £60,000 monthly FX allowance, two free metal cards per business and payment-processing tools.2,5 |
| Enterprise | Custom allowances for local and international transfers, unlimited Revolut-to-Revolut transfers, custom FX allowances and pricing, and agreed custom limits.2,6 |
According to Revolut's transfer-timing guidance, GBP transfers are usually received within hours, typically up to three hours.8
Payments between Revolut accounts are listed as instant. The same guidance explains that GBP local transfers via Faster Payments usually arrive within hours, EUR transfers from SEPA countries can take up to two business days, USD transfers can take up to three business days, and international SWIFT transfers can take up to two business days.8
Revolut's plan structure can be easier to follow if you know your likely monthly payment and FX activity. The key is to pick a tier based on the allowances you will actually use, not just the headline subscription.
According to Airwallex's UK pricing page, Explore is £0 or £19 a month, Grow is £49 a month, and Accelerate starts from £999 a month. The £19 Explore fee can be waived when the business meets the stated £10,000 monthly-deposit or minimum-balance condition.1
| Fee area | What to know |
|---|---|
| FX conversions | Airwallex lists 0.5% above interbank rates for major currencies and 1% for all other currencies.1 |
| SWIFT transfers | The pricing page lists £10 to £20 per transfer for SWIFT transfers to 200+ countries on SHA and OUR routes.1 |
| Card users | Explore includes five free active spend users; additional employee card users are listed at £5 a month.1 |
| Online card acceptance | UK Visa and Mastercard payments are listed at 1.30% plus £0.20. EEA and international card rates differ.1 |
The practical point is that the subscription is only one layer of Airwallex's cost. Your payment routes, FX pairs, card-user count and payment-acceptance volume can all change the total payable.
| Plan | Fees |
|---|---|
| Basic | £10 a month. Local transfers after the monthly allowance cost £0.20 per additional transfer. International transfers cost £5 each, and FX above the allowance is 0.6%. Exchanging outside foreign-exchange market hours has a 1% fee.2,3 |
| Grow | £35 a month. FX above the monthly allowance is 0.6%, and exchanging outside market hours has a 1% additional FX fee.4 |
| Scale | £125 a month. FX above the monthly allowance is 0.6%, and exchanging outside market hours has a 1% additional FX fee.5 |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing. Transfers outside agreed limits are £0.20 per local transfer and £5 per international transfer.6 |
The plan-pricing page advertises Grow from £30 a month and Scale from £90 a month, while the current monthly fee pages list £35 and £125 respectively. Compare the billing term and the fee page that applies to your selected plan before you sign up.2,4,5
Ultimately the choice between these providers depends on the way your business works.
Airwallex may be a stronger fit if you need payment acceptance, payment links, recurring billing, a card programme and API or accounting integrations alongside global account and transfer tools. That combination is central to its product proposition.1
Revolut Business may be a stronger fit if you want a tiered business-account plan and can choose a subscription around your expected transfer, FX and card needs. Its allowances rise substantially between Basic, Grow and Scale, but so do the monthly fees.2,3,4,5
Before choosing either provider, model the costs of your usual payment routes, FX activity, card users, customer-payment volume and integrations. The cheapest monthly plan is not automatically the cheapest option once you add the fees that apply to the way you use it.
If international payments, multi-currency operations and a business account without a monthly subscription are priorities, consider Wise Business.
Wise Business offers a free Essential plan for basic spending and transferring. If you need to receive money, set up direct debits, or generate invoices, you'll pay a one-time £50 setup fee to unlock the Advanced features.
With Wise Business, you can:
Make the wise choice when selecting a business account for your domestic and global needs.
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It depends on how you use the account. Airwallex's cost can depend on plan price, FX, transfer route, spend users and payment acceptance. Revolut Business's cost depends on the plan selected, included transfer and FX allowances, and fees outside those allowances.1,2,3,4,5
Both offer payment-acceptance tools. Airwallex lists online card and local payment-method acceptance, payment links and billing tools. Revolut Business lists payment acceptance, payment links, QR codes and card-processing tools across its plan page and fees documentation.1,2,3
The current UK pricing pages in the source pack list Basic at £10 a month, Grow at £35 a month, Scale at £125 a month and Enterprise with custom pricing. The public plan page also shows annual-plan starting prices for Grow and Scale.2,3,4,5,6
Sources:
Sources last checked on 28th July 2026
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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