Thunes Raises $150 Million to Expand Cross-Border Payments Platform

Thunes has raised $150 million in a Series D funding round to strengthen its cross-border payments platform and accelerate its expansion in the United States.

The company recently acquired licenses in all 50 U.S. states, subject to regulatory approval, Thunes said in a Monday (April 28) press release.

Thunes’ Direct Global Network currently enables real-time payments across more than 130 countries, 80 currencies and 550 direct integrations, according to the release.

It makes diverse payments systems — including traditional, digital and emerging currencies — interoperable, per the release.

“This new capital enables us to extend our Direct Global Network, including in the United States, drive technological innovation, from artificial intelligence to digital asset ecosystem interoperability, and deliver superior value to the members of our proprietary network,” Thunes CEO Floris de Kort said in the release.

Thunes’ latest funding round was led by Apis Partners and Vitruvian Partners, per the release.

“Thunes has revolutionized global cross-border payments by seamlessly integrating robust technology with a disciplined financial strategy that inspires confidence,” Apis Partners Managing Partner and Co-founder Matteo Stefanel said in the release.

Tassilo Arnhold, partner at Vitruvian Partners, said in the release that the Thunes platform “effectively bridges traditional banking, mobile wallets and digital assets into one unified solution.”

Cutting-edge cross-border payment solutions that include real-time payment rails can provide rapid clearance, tracking and greater cost efficiency, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Citi collaboration, “The Treasury Management Playbook: Spotlight on Cross-Border Payments.”

With these capabilities, the solutions address the three most commonly cited pain points of traditional cross-border payment methods like wire transfers: slow speeds, lack of transparency and high costs, according to the report.

Thunes said in January that it added PayPal’s Hyperwallet to its Direct Global Network, enabling Hyperwallet customers to send money in real time to more than 450 million mobile wallets and bank accounts across Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam.

In October, Thunes launched a partnership with stablecoin issuer Circle that lets members of Thunes’ Direct Global Network fund and execute cross-border transactions using USDC. Thunes said this will allow for faster transfers in seconds, seven days a week, boosting liquidity and lowering capital costs for its members.