Thunes, a global B2B payment infrastructure platform, has secured investments from three notable investors – Visa, EDBI, and Endeavor Catalyst – as part of its Series C funding round.
The investments further support Thunes’ mission to address the inefficiencies in cross-border money transfers and develop a next-generation payment system that is secure, instant, and transparent.
With the addition of Visa, EDBI, and Endeavor Catalyst, Thunes’ Series C funding now totals $72m. This funding follows a previous investment announcement of $60m led by Marshall Wace, a London-based hedge fund, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and Southeast Asian private equity firm 01Fintech.
Thunes already has an existing global partnership with Visa. In October 2022, both companies announced a strategic collaboration aimed at expanding the reach of Visa Direct to 1.5 billion digital wallets. Through this collaboration, Thunes’ B2B payments platform offers a send-to-wallet feature to 78 digital wallet providers worldwide. By integrating with Visa Direct’s API, financial institutions, governments, neobanks, and money transfer operators that are Visa customers can enable consumers and small businesses to send funds to eligible digital wallets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America using Thunes’ global network.
Thunes CEO Peter De Caluwe said: “We’re proud to close Series C with such a strong roster of influential investors. Support from Visa, EDBI and Endeavor is a powerful endorsement of our strategy and capabilities, providing us with additional resources to develop innovative solutions to face industry challenges.
“By leveraging the insights and support of our investors, we will expand our network and offer businesses and consumers an unparalleled cross-border payments experience. I’m delighted to see an even deeper collaboration with Visa. Together, we will pave the way towards a global payment ecosystem that is inclusive, efficient and ubiquitous.
“And as a Singapore-based company, EDBI’s backing is also incredibly important to us. Though our business has a global nature, Singapore continues to serve as our home base and we are proud to be deeply embedded in this dynamic global Fintech hub. This supportive ecosystem provides us great benefits, with a market for top talent, an excellent infrastructure, and a progressive regulator at the forefront of financial innovation.”
Visa Direct global head Ruben Salazar Genovez said: “Digital wallets play a key role in providing underserved communities with greater economic empowerment and financial inclusion by penetrating previously unreached regions.
“Visa is proud to take part in Thunes’ Series C investment round and we look forward to continuing our collaboration aimed at providing more customers around the world with quick and simple access to the financial system through digital wallets.”
