A Complete Guide To Airwallex Bill Pay And Xero Integration 

For many SMEs today, finance teams are under increasing pressure to manage higher volumes of invoices, cross-border payments, and month-end deadlines with fewer resources. Manual accounts payable (AP) processes—spreadsheet tracking, manual data entry, and juggling multiple systems slow teams down and increase the risk of costly errors. This is why automation has quickly become essential for modern businesses, especially those operating across markets like Hong Kong and other global hubs. The combination of Airwallex and Xero offers a powerful solution: streamlined bill processing, AI-powered data capture, automated syncing, and faster reconciliation—all without writing a single line of code. In this blog, we break down how the Airwallex + Xero integration, especially Airwallex Bill Pay feature transforms  your accounting workflows and helps your business close the books faster each month.

What Is The Xero & Airwallex Integration?

The Xero and Airwallex integration is a seamless, no-code connection that links your Airwallex account directly to your Xero organisation. Once connected, both systems work together automatically meaning your bills, approvals, and payment information flow between platforms without manual data entry. Approved bills from Xero sync automatically into Airwallex for payment, while all payment results sync back to Xero in real time. This two-way sync ensures your financial records stay clean, accurate, and always up to date, significantly reducing the chance of duplicate payments or reconciliation delays.

This integration is especially valuable for SMEs, cross-border businesses, and finance teams managing a high volume of invoices. Companies that operate in multiple currencies or work with overseas suppliers can streamline their entire AP process while leveraging Airwallex’s fast global payouts and competitive FX rates. Whether you’re scaling globally or simply looking to eliminate manual AP admin, the Airwallex + Xero integration provides a smarter, more automated way to manage your bills and close your books faster.

Read: A Step-by-Step Comprehensive Guide To Airwallex and Xero Integration

Why Businesses Struggle With Accounts Payable Today

Even as companies grow, many still rely on outdated accounts payable (AP) processes that slow down operations and increase financial risk. Most businesses face three major challenges—fragmented systems, manual workflows, and added complexity when paying international suppliers. These issues add unnecessary costs, delay month-end close, and overwhelm finance teams.

The Airwallex + Xero integration directly addresses these challenges by centralising workflows, automating data entry, and simplifying domestic and global bill payments.

1. Fragmented Systems

Many businesses use separate tools for invoice capture, approvals, payments, and reconciliation. This creates disconnected workflows that are time-consuming to manage and difficult to scale. Finance teams often switch between email, spreadsheets, banking portals, and accounting systems—leading to slow approvals and little visibility over outstanding bills.

How Airwallex + Xero solves this:

• Seamless two-way sync ensures bills, approvals, and payment data move automatically between platforms.
  
• AP teams can upload, approve, and pay bills all within Airwallex while Xero stays updated in real time.
  
• By consolidating multiple tools into one integrated workflow, businesses eliminate duplication and reduce admin hours.

This unified approach helps teams stay organised and close the books faster every month.

2. Manual & Error-Prone Processes

Traditional AP relies heavily on manual data entry, email threads, and spreadsheet tracking. This increases the risk of errors, duplicate invoices, and incorrect payments—issues that become more pronounced as a business scales. Manual reconciliation also slows down the month-end process, making it difficult to maintain accurate financial data.

How Airwallex + Xero solves this:

• AI-powered OCR extracts invoice details instantly to reduce manual data entry.
  
• Automatic syncing of approvals and payments means Xero is always up-to-date with accurate records.
  
• Built-in checks help detect duplicate invoices and validate payment details before funds are sent.

This automation helps finance teams eliminate the most common causes of AP errors while improving accuracy and control.

3. Challenges With Paying International Vendors

Cross-border payments often involve high fees, slow processing times, and complicated manual workflows. Traditional banks lack flexibility for multi-currency payments, forcing businesses to convert funds unnecessarily and absorb FX losses. Managing international suppliers separately from domestic ones also creates extra work for AP teams.

How Airwallex + Xero solves this:

• Fast payouts to 150+ countries and 60+ currencies simplify global bill payments.
  
• Multi-currency balances allow businesses to hold funds without converting each time.
  
• Competitive FX rates reduce the cost of paying overseas suppliers.
  
• Bulk payment capabilities make it easy to pay multiple international vendors in one go.

Together, Airwallex and Xero streamline the entire global AP process, making international payments as simple as paying a local vendor.

How Airwallex Bill Pay Works (Step-by-Step Workflow)

Airwallex Bill Pay streamlines every step of accounts payable from invoice capture to payment and reconciliation. When paired with Xero’s two-way sync, businesses can manage bills faster, reduce errors, and keep their financial data accurate in real time.

Below is a clear breakdown of how the process works from start to finish.

1. Upload or Forward Your Invoice

Start by uploading invoices directly into Airwallex or forwarding them to your dedicated bill email address. This replaces manual data entry and keeps all incoming bills in one centralised dashboard.

2. AI Performs Automated Data Capture

Airwallex uses AI and OCR technology to instantly extract key invoice details—amounts, dates, vendor names, line items, and payment information. This automation eliminates repetitive manual input and ensures data accuracy before coding or approvals begin.

3. Code the Bill Using Your Xero Chart of Accounts

Because Xero syncs directly with Airwallex, your chart of accounts, tracking categories, and tax rates are already available. Employees can categorise expenses quickly and accurately, helping maintain clean books and reducing reconciliation time.

4. Set Approval Levels

Next, route the bill to the correct approvers.
Airwallex supports:

• Multi-layer approval workflows (based on managers, roles, or bill limits)
  
• Manager-based or role-based approval rules
  
• Custom limits based on bill amount or currency

Each approval is logged with comments and timestamps, giving your finance team full audit visibility.

5. Pay in Local or Foreign Currency

Once approved, bills can be paid instantly in multiple ways:

• Local currency payments for domestic suppliers
  
• Foreign currency payments for international suppliers using Airwallex’s global transfer network.
  
• Multi-currency balances to avoid unnecessary FX conversions

Airwallex also offers competitive exchange rates and fast payout coverage to 150+ countries, making cross-border payments simple and cost-effective.

6. Two-Way Sync Automatically Updates Xero

After payment, Airwallex automatically sends all payment data back to Xero via the two-way sync. This ensures that:

• Bills are marked as paid
  
• Bank feeds and coding remain accurate
  
• Month-end reconciliation becomes significantly faster

The two-way sync removes duplicate work and keeps your financial records fully aligned across both platforms.

Real User Results 

Businesses that have adopted Airwallex Bill Pay together with Xero are seeing immediate, measurable improvements across their finance operations. From reducing manual work to consolidating multiple tools, these real-world outcomes highlight how powerful the integration can be for growing companies.

Significant Efficiency Gains for Finance Teams

Teams that previously spent hours each week entering invoice data, chasing approvals, and reconciling payments now complete these tasks in a fraction of the time. With AI-driven data capture, automated approvals, and two-way sync with Xero, finance teams report smoother month-end closes and enhanced data accuracy.

“Getting our international invoices paid is much more seamless now compared to our previous process of paying bills manually through a separate banking system. We’ve reduced hours and manual data entry for our finance team significantly.”
— Ben Joy, Financial Controller, TDM Growth

Reduced Tools = Lower Costs and Simpler Workflows

Before Airwallex, many businesses relied on separate systems for invoice capture, approval workflows, manual payments, and expense tracking. By consolidating these functions into one platform, companies are eliminating tool redundancy and cutting unnecessary subscription costs.

“Transitioning our accounts payable and corporate cards workflows to Airwallex has simplified our internal processes significantly. It means we no longer have to manage multiple tools across capture, approval, and payment. Overall, the Airwallex platform has significantly reduced the time and cost of managing our accounts payable and expenses.”
— Joel Stehr, COO, Bilue

Faster Invoice Processing and Reconciliation

Airwallex’s integration with Xero automates reconciliation, ensuring every payment and approval syncs back to your ledger in real time. This dramatically reduces the workload at month-end and helps teams maintain accurate books throughout the month.

Finance teams no longer need to manually match payments, correct coding, or update statuses.—Airwallex + Xero keeps everything aligned automatically, reducing human error and giving businesses greater financial visibility.

Who Should Use the Airwallex + Xero Integration?

The Airwallex + Xero integration is designed for businesses that want to simplify accounts payable, reduce manual work, and stay fully in control of their spending. While any business can benefit, it is especially powerful for those operating across borders or managing high invoice volumes.

Below are the types of businesses that gain the most from this integration:

1. Hong Kong SMEs

Hong Kong small and medium businesses often run lean finance teams. The integration removes repetitive data entry, centralises bill approvals, and automates reconciliation by helping SMEs save hours each month and close their books faster.

2. Companies Paying International Suppliers

For businesses working with overseas vendors, manual cross-border payments can be slow, costly, and error-prone. Airwallex offers competitive FX, multi-currency wallets, and fast payouts to 150+ countries, while Xero automatically syncs the payment results. This makes managing international bills significantly easier.

3. Startups Scaling Fast

Growing startups need tools that keep up with the pace of expansion. The integration streamlines bill processing, consolidates spending in one platform, and reduces the need for multiple AP tools. This helps finance teams stay focused on growth—not admin.

4. Remote or Distributed Finance Teams

With multi-layer approvals, audit trails, and a mobile-friendly workflow, remote teams can review, approve, and pay bills anytime. The combination of Airwallex and Xero ensures everyone works from the same accurate, up-to-date financial data.

5. E-commerce and Cross-Border Businesses

E-commerce sellers often pay suppliers in multiple currencies and need clear visibility into spending across markets. The integration supports bulk payments, multi-currency payouts, and automatic bookkeeping which is ideal for businesses scaling across regions.

Conclusion

The Airwallex and Xero integration gives businesses a faster, more automated, and more accurate way to manage accounts payable by reducing manual work, eliminating errors, and improving visibility across every payment workflow. With AI-powered bill capture, multi-layer approvals, bulk international payments, and real-time two-way sync with Xero, finance teams can close their books faster and operate with far greater efficiency. For growing businesses, especially those operating across borders, this integration provides the flexibility and scalability needed to manage global payments confidently and cost-effectively.

How FastLane Group Can Help

As a Xero Platinum Champion Partner, FastLane Group helps Hong Kong and global businesses get the most out of the Airwallex + Xero integration. Our team ensures your AP processes are set up correctly from day one. If you want expert guidance on setting up Airwallex with Xero or need a partner to fully manage your accounting and AP workflows, our expert team can help. Contact us today to get started.