Funding round fuels Thunes emerging markets payment plans

Global cross-border payments network Thunes has completed a $10 million financing round led through global venture firm GGV Capital to boost its financial services efforts in emerging markets.

Singapore-based Thunes, previously known as TransferTo, provides a global network that interconnects financial institutions and digital financial service providers to deliver money transfers.

The completion of the Series A funding round will help Thunes upgrade the service and platform across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The company says it also plans to open offices in San Francisco, Dubai and Paris.

Thunes has entered recent collaborations with Western Union to expand payout capabilities to mobile wallets; PayPal and M-Pesa for alternative payment solutions to expand Kenyan consumer capabilities in global e-commerce; and the Grab ride-hailing and payment platform in Southeast Asia to enable real-time mass salary payouts for Grab drivers.

"We are extremely proud and excited to have a top venture capitalist like GGV Capital recognize our vision and potential," Peter De Caluwe, executive chairman at Thunes, said in a Monday press release.

Thunes has hired Steve Vickers as CEO to lead the global expansion and "take the business to the next level," De Caluwe said.

Thunes has a network that reaches more than 80 countries and utilizes more than 9,000 interconnected payout partners, offering P2P remittance processing, corporate mass payouts, B2B payments, and digital payment services.

Thunes reports completion of more than 300,000 transactions daily and processes in excess of $3 billion annually.

"We pride ourselves on the long-term success of the companies we invest in, and we were attracted by Thunes because we are aligned with their mission and see a lot of growth potential in this business," Jenny Lee, managing partner at GGV Capital, said in the release.