Airbnb Payments UK

E-money or payment institution · London, United Kingdom

Airbnb Payments UK Limited is the payments arm of the Airbnb travel marketplace rather than a bank or a provider of business accounts. It is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as an electronic money institution under reference number 900596 and is registered at 280 Bishopsgate in London. Its regulated service is narrow: it charges a guest's card, bank account, PayPal account or digital wallet when a booking is confirmed, and then pays the host through a payout method the host has linked to their Airbnb account, such as a bank account, PayPal, a prepaid card or a virtual card. Airbnb's payments terms make it the contracting entity for hosts and guests resident in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, in China, in India for cross-border bookings, and in every other country not assigned to a local Airbnb payments company. A business cannot open an account with it, hold a balance in it or use it for anything outside Airbnb.

Legal name: Airbnb Payments UK Limited
Regulated by: Financial Conduct Authority (authorised electronic money institution, reference number 900596)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 2015
Website: www.airbnb.co.uk

Scores, 0 to 10

4.5Financial strength & stability

An FCA authorised electronic money institution wholly inside the Airbnb group, but it publishes no balance sheet, no capital figure and holds no credit rating of its own, and its Companies House accounts are scanned images. · source

3.0Crypto-friendly bank

Airbnb publishes no policy on crypto businesses in its payments terms because the service is limited to bookings on its own platform. · source

3.0Lowest fees

Airbnb publishes no fee schedule for the payment service itself; hosts pay Airbnb service fees on the platform and there is no account with a price list to compare. · source

3.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Airbnb publishes no policy on gambling, cannabis, adult or forex businesses in its payments terms because the service only covers stays, experiences and services booked on Airbnb. · source

2.5United Kingdom

FCA authorised electronic money institution 900596 providing regulated payment collection and next business day payouts to UK hosts, but with no business current account, no rail access for clients and no product outside Airbnb. · source

2.5Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

It is the default contracting entity for hosts resident in countries without a local Airbnb payments company, so non-residents are served, but only as Airbnb hosts and never with a company account. · source

2.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Airbnb Payments UK is the contracting entity for residents of Switzerland, but EEA residents contract with Airbnb Payments Luxembourg and the UK entity holds no EEA licence and offers no account. · source

2.0Fast digital onboarding

A host adds a payout method inside an existing Airbnb account with name, government identification, tax ID and bank details, but there is no account application and no company onboarding at all. · source

2.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

It does collect guest card payments and settle marketplace payouts, including a virtual card payout method, but only for Airbnb listings; no merchant can obtain acquiring or a collection account from it. No receiving accounts, no subscription billing, no accounting integration and no API for third-party software companies. · source

2.0Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot rates Airbnb 1.3 out of 5 in the Bad band; Airbnb publishes no separate satisfaction measure for the payments entity. · source

1.5Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

The payments terms make it the contracting entity for residents of China and for every Asia-Pacific country not assigned to a local Airbnb entity, but only for Airbnb bookings and with no account or local rails for businesses. · source

1.5Middle East & Gulf

Gulf and Middle East residents fall under the all other countries line of the payments terms and contract with Airbnb Payments UK, again only as Airbnb hosts and guests. · source

1.5Latin America, Africa & South Asia

It is the catch-all entity for Latin America, Africa and South Asia, with India carved out for domestic bookings and Brazil and Mexico handled by local Airbnb companies; there is no local account or local-currency product. · source

1.5Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Payouts are made only in the currency of the selected payout method, Airbnb publishes no rate or margin, and it states it is not responsible for conversion fees charged by the host's provider. Single-purpose payout service with no multi-currency account, no cash pooling, no host-to-host connectivity and no client API. · source

1.5Best interest on business balances

The payments terms describe collection and payout only and mention no interest, savings, sweep or treasury product on host balances. · source

1.5Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

It issues no card to any customer; cards appear only as a guest payment method it charges and as a virtual card payout method for some hosts. · source

1.5On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

The service moves money only between guests and hosts on Airbnb, so a business cannot use it to buy crypto or pay an exchange; this is a platform limit rather than a stated crypto ban. · source

1.5Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

Host payouts go to a bank account, PayPal, Payoneer, Western Union or international transfer, with no crypto payout and no way to bring crypto proceeds into the service. · source

1.0Fintech companies that need a partner bank

This is a captive in-house payments arm serving one marketplace; it offers no safeguarding accounts, no banking as a service and no rail access to other payment firms. · source

1.0Startups & VC-backed companies

No startup product, no account, no lending and no way for a company to become a customer other than by listing on Airbnb. · source

1.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export

No letters of credit, guarantees, documentary collections or supply-chain finance appear in the services listed in the payments terms. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Airbnb Payments UK only collects guest payments and pays hosts for bookings on Airbnb, and holds no crypto for hosts or any other business, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

Airbnb's payment methods page lists cards, wallets and Klarna with no crypto or stablecoin option, and 2025 reports of Airbnb studying stablecoins have not produced a product, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Bitcoin

No bitcoin payment, payout or holding at Airbnb Payments UK, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Ethereum

No ether payment, payout or holding at Airbnb Payments UK, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

No stablecoin checkout or host payout; Airbnb was reported in June 2025 to be exploring stablecoins, but nothing had launched by September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.