Singaporean FinTech startup Thunes raises $60M in Series B funding

By Edil Corneille

Singapore-based FinTech startup Thunes, which operates a global B2B cross-border payments network, announced its latest Series B funding round that saw Africa-focused Helios Investment Partners leading the US$60 million investment in it. Additional investors included were Checkout.com as well as existing investors GGV Capital and Future Shape.

“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. Our goal is to make financial services affordable and accessible to everyone,” said Peter De Caluwe, CEO of Thunes.

In August, Thunes announced an 80 percent increase in transaction volumes for Q2 2020. Launched in 2016, Thunes’ global network connects mobile wallet providers, banks, technology companies, and money transfer operators, enabling seamless cross-border payments to and from emerging economies in a fast and secure manner. Presently, Thunes connects different payment players in over 100 countries, allowing them to tap into the partner network in emerging markets.

De Caluwe added, “The projected size of emerging markets cross-border payments is around US$45 trillion. We will continue to invest and deliver additional value to the global payments ecosystem and capitalise on this explosive growth. We expect transaction volumes on our platform to double annually, through the expansion of our network. For the five billion people and businesses in the growing emerging market economies, we enable cross-border payments seamlessly, faster, and at more competitive rates.”

The latest round of funding is expected to drive the continued development of Thunes’ global network and accelerate its expansion and growth in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The capital raised will be deployed to expand its team and product offerings, including business payments and collections from emerging markets.

These regions represent Thunes’ largest growth opportunity, where fragmented and complex payment ecosystems often leave consumers and businesses struggling with slow, costly, and unreliable ways of moving money.

Tope Lawani, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners commented, “The African fintech space, and payments in particular, remains a key focus area for Helios and we continue to look for opportunities to back high-growth companies building key infrastructure for the financial ecosystem in Africa. Thunes is a great example of a firm leading this. The unique network built by the company enables its partners to process cheaper and faster cross-border payments of all types. We are delighted to be supporting Thunes in their plans to connect multiple payment ecosystems across often challenging markets in Africa and other emerging markets and thus, foster further financial inclusion.”

Guillaume Pousaz, CEO & Founder of Checkout.com noted, “We’re pleased to support Thunes with this investment, which marks our third transaction of 2020. As a leading, profitable payment provider, Checkout.com has the opportunity to support entrepreneurs who strive towards our vision of connected finance. Thunes closely aligns to this, with a mission to build the rails which facilitates greater payment options in the emerging markets, and unite leading financial institutions on one platform. We have followed Thunes’ growth and recognise the company as a pioneer in cross-border payment solutions. We look forward to working closely with them.”

In May 2019, upon regulatory approval, Thunes closed a US$10 million Series A financing led by GGV Capital, a global venture firm. Thunes’ Series B funding takes the company’s total funds raised to US$70 million.