Thunes raises $60m in Series B round to power network expansion
Cross-border payments firm Thunes has raised $60 million in a Series B investment round led by Helios Investment Partners.
Thunes has raised $70 million since 2016
Existing investors GGV Capital and Future Shape participated in the round, alongside newcomer Checkout.com.
The round is Thunes’ second since its foundation in 2016. It snagged $10 million in a May 2019 Series A.
Thunes operates a network of mobile wallet providers, banks, and remittance firms. Through its management of the network it offers “seamless” cross-border payments to and from emerging markets.
The firm claims to connect more than 100 countries and operate “the largest partner network in emerging markets”.
Its latest round of funding is going towards the continued development of that network. The firm plans an “acceleration” of its moves in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Thunes says those three regions are its largest growth opportunity, where “fragmented and complex payment ecosystems” leave consumers and businesses “struggling”.
“The projected size of emerging markets cross-border payments is around $45 trillion,” says Peter De Caluwe, CEO of Thunes.
“We will continue to invest and deliver additional value to the global payments ecosystem and capitalise on this explosive growth.”
De Caluwe predicts that Thunes’ transaction volumes will double annually.
Thunes has signed remittance deals with Thailand-based TrueMoney and Commercial Bank of Dubai.
The firm is an offshoot of mobile payments firm TransferTo, which split its top-up and cross-border divisions into two separate companies in 2019.
Thunes’ sister company, DT One, is headquartered in Singapore, with regional offices in Dubai, Miami, and London.
Related: Worldremit acquires fellow remittance firm Sendwave
