- Startup firm given significant lift by worldwide venture capitalist firm GGV Capital
- Thunes focuses on remittances in emerging economies
- “We are extremely proud and excited to have a top VC like GGV Capital recognise our vision and potential”, says executive chair
A startup cross-border payments system has received a $10 million Series A financing boost.
Thunes, which describes itself as a global cross-border payments network for emerging economies, will receive the cash after an investment round led by GGV Capital.
The international money transfers firm, which is based in Singapore, aims specifically to provide 1.7 billion adults in emerging markets with the tools they need to engage with the economy.
It aims to bring together a number of institutions, including financial services companies, in a network to deliver more services.
With this new funding, it will be able to increase growth in three key geographical areas – including Latin America, Africa and Asia. It will use the cash to open up three new offices in locations across the globe. These will be in San Francisco, Dubai and Paris.
There will be a significant element of strategy to the deal too. The firm will look to create new partnerships to enhance its network, and to offer better solutions for customers.
The firm already works in more than 80 countries around the world, and it has 9,000 partners for customer cash payouts. It provides a number of services, including peer-to-peer remittance processing and business-to-business payments.
The news of the funding comes after several other developments in Thunes’ corporate journey. It announced recently, for example, that it would be working alongside Western Union to boost payout systems for mobile money-moving.
It also has partnerships with other well-known organisations, including PayPal. While, in Kenya, it works with M-PESA to improve access to e-commerce payment solutions.
Peter De Caluwe, who is executive chair of Thunes, said that there had been staffing changes as a result of the funding too.
“We are extremely proud and excited to have a top VC like GGV Capital recognise our vision and potential”, he said.
“We’ve hired a very experienced CEO, Steve Vickers, to lead Thunes’ global expansion and take the business to the next level. This funding allows us to accelerate our company mission and we are all excited for the year ahead”, he added.
At GGV Capital, Managing Partner Jenny Lee said that the firm saw “a lot of growth potential” in Thunes.
“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”, she said.
“This is a great business, with a fantastic growth record, and we look forward to their next chapter.”
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