B2B Cross-Border Payments Network Thunes Raises $60M

Thunes, the FinTech startup which operates a global cross-border payments network for emerging economies, announced Tuesday (Sept. 8) that it raised $60 million in Series B funding.

This latest round of funding is intended to fuel its growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the Singapore-based company said. The cash will be used to hire more staff and expand its product offering, including business payments and collections from emerging markets.

The investment was led by Helios Investment Partners of London, a private equity investing firm operating in Africa, and included Checkout.com, the connected payments technology based in London. Existing investors GGV Capital, the Silicon Valley global venture capital firm, and Future Shape, the Paris-based investment and advisory firm, were also part of the deal.

“This marks a significant milestone in our next phase of growth as we strive towards helping financial institutions and businesses around the world move money between each other in a faster, more economical and reliable way,”  said Peter De Caluwe, CEO of Thunes, in a statement. “Our goal is to make financial services affordable and accessible to everyone.”

Founded four years ago, Thunes, originally named TransferTo, said it provides financial services globally, including to the 1.7 billion residents who live in emerging markets shut out of the global economy because of a lack of access to financial services.

Its platform connects banks, mobile wallet providers, money transfer operators and tech companies to enable real time and secure cross-border payments to and from emerging economies in more than 100 countries, Thunes said.

Since its inception, the company’s funds raised have totaled $70 million.

De Caluwe added the projected size of emerging markets cross-border payments is 5 billion people and businesses with an estimated value of $45 trillion.

“We will continue to invest and deliver additional value to the global payments ecosystem and capitalize on this explosive growth,” he said. “We expect transaction volumes on our platform to double annually, through the expansion of our network.”

Last fall, Thunes said it received regulatory approval for payment services in Singapore. The license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore allows the company to bring companies into their payment network.

Also last year, the company raised $10 million in a venture funding round led by GGV Capital. Thunes also partnered with Western Union to send funds directly into mobile wallets around the world. In addition, users of Western Union’s network of agents can also send funds directly into a recipient’s mobile wallet.