How Thunes and Temenos Are Powering Embedded Banking in Emerging Markets

Embedded banking is changing how financial services reach people, especially in emerging markets with large unbanked populations and mobile-first economies.

Instead of opening a bank account, users access payments, lending, and FX through the platforms they already use, like digital wallets, e-commerce platforms, or super apps. 

But building compliant and scalable infrastructure in these markets is a challenge. Fintechs, platforms, businesses and banks face fragmented regulations, legacy systems, and costly integrations.

That’s where the Thunes and Temenos partnership comes in. The two companies are making it easier to embed financial services into any platform and offer fast, compliant, and ready-to-scale payments.

In this article, we explore how our joint solution is powering embedded finance for emerging markets. 

Table of contents

What is embedded banking?

Embedded banking is when financial services are built directly into non-financial platforms. Instead of opening a separate banking app, users can pay, borrow, or exchange money while doing things like shopping online, using a digital wallet, or getting paid through an app.

Some examples include:

• Paying for goods through an e-commerce platform
• Withdrawing gig earnings into a mobile wallet
• Receiving a small loan through a ride-hailing or retail app

For users, it’s a seamless, contextual experience. For platforms, it’s a way to deepen engagement, unlock new revenue streams, and reach underserved markets without needing to become a licensed bank.

The embedded banking opportunity

Embedded banking is growing fast across emerging markets, and for good reason. These regions are home to large unbanked and underbanked populations, rising smartphone penetration, growing ecosystems of fintechs, digital wallets, and super apps and small businesses seeking faster access to credit and global payments.

As digital platforms become the primary way people access services, more users are performing financial actions without ever interacting with a traditional bank. They expect these services to be fast, simple, and built into the apps they already use.

Embedded finance brings these capabilities into platforms people already use.

Some everyday use cases include:

• Offering instant earnings withdrawals in gig economy platforms 
• Enabling FX and remittance services within wallet apps
• Embedding point-of-sale lending or buy-now-pay-later options in retail platforms
• Built-in SME credit lines or settlement tools in B2B and creator marketplaces

Built-in SME credit lines or settlement tools in B2B and creator marketplaces

This is fundamentally different from traditional banking, which centres on standalone apps and siloed infrastructure. Embedded banking shifts the focus to the user experience. It’s about meeting users where they are, with services that feel like a natural part of the platform.

But for providers, enabling this is technically and operationally complex.

Barriers to financial inclusion at scale

The promise of embedded banking is clear. Yet, delivering it across emerging markets comes with challenges.

1. Outdated infrastructure

Many financial institutions still rely on legacy systems. These setups weren’t built for mobile-first or API-driven products, so making them work for modern digital experiences can be slow, expensive, and difficult to scale.

2. Lack of payment rails

Even if Fintechs build a great product, they often struggle with cross-border payments, liquidity, and local payouts. Few have access to the kind of global payout infrastructure required to move money efficiently between local currencies.

3. Complex regulatory fragmentation

Every market has its own set of rules, including licensing, KYC, AML checks, data privacy laws, and more. Trying to expand into new regions means rebuilding compliance workflows again and again, which takes time and specialised knowledge.

4. Delays and costs

Connecting with banking systems or payment APIs can be a time and resource drain for developers, which can delay product launches and increase costs.

What fintechs and digital platforms need is a pre-integrated solution that combines reliable core banking with global payment capabilities and handles compliance in the background.

How the Thunes and Temenos partnership facilitates embedded banking

Thunes and Temenos bring together two critical components for embedded banking: modern core banking infrastructure and real-time global payments. 

Temenos overview

Temenos is a global leader in core banking software. Its modular, API-first platform gives financial institutions the flexibility to build and scale digital banking services. 

With cloud-native architecture and robust compliance tooling, it supports everything from digital account creation to lending and transaction processing.

Its key capabilities include:

• Modular banking features that cover accounts, cards, lending, and compliance
• Multiple deployment options, including SaaS, on-premises, and hybrid models
• Open APIs that make it easy to customise and launch services quickly

Thunes overview 

Thunes is the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, with coverage in over 130 countries and support for more than 80 currencies. It allows platforms to send and receive funds globally, with built-in liquidity, treasury, FX, and a first-in-class compliance infrastructure.

Thunes offers:

• Global payouts to bank accounts, digital wallets, and debit cards
• 100% visibility into payments
• Robust AML screening and regulatory compliance
• Enterprise-grade treasury and liquidity tools

Seamless integration via Temenos Exchange

Thunes is an official partner on the Temenos Exchange, and Temenos has built a connector from its core banking system into Thunes’ payouts API. Any Temenos customer can plug and play with Thunes using this connector, without needing to integrate our API.

The connector supports all use cases and full functionality:

• Faster go-to-market for embedded finance products
• Built-in compliance with KYC/AML support across jurisdictions
• Global reach with payouts in 130+ countries
• Reduced development effort with no need to build or maintain custom integrations

Whether you’re launching a digital wallet, SME platform, or gig economy app, the Thunes-Temenos solution helps you move from idea to implementation fast.

How our integration enables access and growth

This partnership is making a real difference in how people access and use financial services in a range of use cases.

Banks powering digital payout services

A traditional bank using Temenos can activate Thunes’ network to extend its reach to previously underserved markets, offer digital-first services without rebuilding core systems, monetise new B2B and B2C use cases through platform partnerships and stay competitive in markets where wallets, super apps, and fintechs are rapidly gaining traction.

This opens up new revenue streams and strengthens their role in fast-growing digital ecosystems.

Gig workers and instant payouts

Gig economy platforms using Temenos as their core banking layer can now utilise Thunes to disburse gig worker earnings in real-time, directly into wallets or bank accounts, regardless of currency or location. 

The benefits are twofold; for workers, this means faster access to wages, while for platforms, it means better retention and lower cash-handling risk.

Remittances reaching remote users

Remittances are a vital lifeline in many emerging economies. With Thunes’ Direct Global Network, a Temenos-powered provider can reach rural users via local wallet integrations, foregoing the need for them to visit a bank branch or agent. 

This improves financial inclusion while keeping fees low and transaction times short.

Scale of potential

Together, these platforms can deliver embedded banking experiences to hundreds of millions of users, many of whom would otherwise be excluded from traditional financial services.

• Faster go-to-market for embedded finance products. Launch new payment-enabled features in weeks, not months. With Thunes pre-integrated into Temenos, platforms can skip complex builds and focus on user experience.
• Built-in compliance, with KYC/AML support across jurisdictions. Reduce the legal and operational burden of cross-border expansion. Thunes handles local compliance requirements, streamlining approvals and reducing risk.
• Global reach, with payouts in over 130 countries: Expand your service footprint instantly. Whether paying individuals or businesses, you can send funds to local bank accounts, mobile wallets, or cash points, without managing multiple partners.
• Reduced development effort, with no need to build or maintain custom integrations. Engineering teams save time and avoid technical debt. The native Temenos connector is regularly updated and supported so that teams can scale with confidence.
• Supporting global development goals: The Thunes-Temenos partnership helps lower the barriers to access and reach.

As mobile access accelerates and digital platforms multiply, the need for scalable, interoperable infrastructure is only increasing.

Embedded finance in emerging markets: Future trends

As embedded banking matures, we can expect to see several key trends emerge.

1. Open APIs and composable banking

Developers and product teams want the freedom to build without being locked into rigid systems. Composable infrastructure means businesses can assemble services like onboarding, lending, FX, and KYC from modular APIs.

With Temenos offering API-first core banking components and Thunes providing global payouts as a service, the integration allows teams to compose new financial workflows with minimal friction. This enables innovation to occur faster and more sustainably over time.

2. Mobile-first financial journeys

In emerging markets, mobile is often the only touchpoint. Embedded banking must support native mobile experiences, whether it’s a loan offered at checkout, a salary paid into a wallet, or FX disbursed through a super app.

Temenos enables mobile-ready banking logic behind the scenes, while Thunes ensures payments are delivered to the right mobile channels. Together, they support embedded payments journeys that feel seamless for end users.

3. Cross-border business payments

SMEs and B2B platforms are increasingly global, but their payment infrastructure isn’t. Traditional B2B payments are slow, expensive, and opaque, especially when crossing borders.

Thunes provides a high-speed, cost-efficient alternative to traditional correspondent banking. Paired with Temenos’ core ledger and reconciliation tools, this creates a powerful solution for enabling cross-border business payments, supporting trade, supplier payouts, and platform-based marketplaces.

4. Embedded compliance

As regulators tighten oversight, compliance must be part of the infrastructure. But managing AML, sanctions screening, and local reporting requirements across dozens of countries is complex and resource-intensive.

With Thunes handling global transaction screening and regulatory compliance, and Temenos providing integrated risk and audit controls, platforms can build compliant-by-design financial products that scale safely across borders.

Embed cross-border financial services without the complexity

The future of financial inclusion depends on infrastructure that is composable, compliant, and globally connected. 

The partnership between Temenos and Thunes delivers exactly that. A seamless integration, with no custom build or delays; simply plug in and play.

It enables Fintechs, platforms, businesses and banks to launch digital, cross-border payments across a range of use cases, including consumer remittances and SME business payments, with an extensive reach of 130 countries and disbursements in over 80 currencies.

Explore the Thunes integration on Temenos Exchange or contact the Thunes team.