Thunes & Bank Alfalah to enable real-time consumer payments to Pakistan

By Leandra Monteiro

Thunes, Singapore-based FinTech company and a leader in global cross-border payments, announced a partnership with Bank Alfalah, one of Pakistan’s largest banks, to enable real-time affordable cross-border payments to consumers in Pakistan.

This partnership will help Thunes’ customers to enable payments not just to Bank Alfalah’s clients, but to all the 57 million of Pakistan’s banked population. It will also work in near-real time, thanks to Thunes’ robust digital treasury systems.

Pakistan ranks 6th among countries recipients of remittances in 2020 globally, according to the World Bank data. The flow of migrant workers’ remittances to Pakistan continues to accelerate despite Covid-19, surging 29% between July 2020 – May 2021 to reach an all-time high of US$26.7 billion per annum. These funds are an important source of foreign exchange for Pakistan and crucial for supporting families with essential daily needs, including food, housing, healthcare and education.

“We are delighted to partner with Bank Alfalah to deliver a smoother and more efficient money transfer experience to the Pakistan consumers. Historically, cross-border money transfers to Pakistan have been complicated by the lack of transparency, long waiting times, and burdened with hidden fees. We are glad to create infrastructure that will benefit families, remote workers and communities across the nation who depend on money sent from overseas for their livelihoods. And we are looking forward to continuing our collaboration with Bank Alfalah, strengthening the financial ties between Pakistan and the rest of the world, and staying true to our vision: providing accessible, transparent and affordable payments,” said Andrew Stewart, Global Head of Networks, Thunes.

“Bank Alfalah is collaborating with Thunes to provide the most automated and seamless cross-border payments experience to Pakistanis. This solution reinforces our commitment to provide smarter and faster ways of sending remittances to Pakistan using digital innovation. This exciting new partnership with Thunes helps Bank Alfalah to become a game changer by enabling cross-border payments to be deposited to all bank account holders in Pakistan in real time,” said Saad Ur Rahman Khan, Group Head – Corporate, Investment Banking and International Business, Bank Alfalah.