Introducing new, modular cross-border payment capabilities

Since our beginnings in 2016, Thunes has been on a mission to address cross-border payment challenges and improve payment experiences. Today, we’re a global payments leader with an infrastructure that allows businesses and consumers to move money seamlessly and transparently across borders. Every year, we’ve added new and vital capabilities: in 2021, we acquired Limonetik, a European payment collections company, and in 2022, Thunes purchased a majority stake in Tookitaki, a Singapore-based anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance technology firm.  

However, many of our existing customers have only known one aspect of Thunes, for example, processing payouts to global wallets or accepting payments using alternative payment methods. They were unaware of Thunes’ full range of services, so we embarked on a journey to improve how we tell the story of our capabilities.

Today, we are excited to introduce a new way to work with Thunes with four key products: Pay, Accept, Exchange and Comply.

To provide deeper insight into this initiative, we spoke to Chief Marketing Officer Irina Chuchkina and Chief Product Officer, Bogdan Dinu who drove this project.

How will this restructuring benefit existing Thunes customers, and what new opportunities will it bring?

Bogdan Dinu: 

Our primary goal is to position Thunes as the world’s premier cross-border payments service company, offering an array of solutions catering to a broad spectrum of customer needs. Over the years, we’ve significantly ramped up our capabilities and can now do much more for our customers as a full-service global payment provider. But we’re not just enhancing our services; we’re transforming how businesses and individuals manage their relations with Thunes.

Can you share some specific use cases or examples of how businesses and consumers will interact with these capabilities?

Bogdan Dinu: 

Sure, there are numerous possibilities when it comes to forming combinations of our capabilities.

For instance, imagine a scenario where we partner with a global digital marketplace. We can facilitate the seamless collection of payments from Brazilian customers by offering Boleto as a local payment method while simultaneously enabling the disbursement of funds to sellers in Indonesia, Ghana or Singapore in their local currencies. 

Or, in another case, we can assist a digital bank in Saudi Arabia and significantly enhance its product range, all while ensuring rigorous compliance reporting and AML screenings.

These use cases beautifully complement one another, and our newly introduced Pay, Accept, Exchange, and Comply framework simplifies the understanding of these intricately woven solutions. 

It’s about empowering our customers with the choice that best meets their unique requirements and keeping Thunes as their trusted partner in cross-border payments.

What was the driving force behind the modular approach, and how does it align with Thunes’ long-term vision?

Irina Chuchkina: 

This launch was preceded by a thorough process of self-reflection as we sought to answer fundamental questions: Who are we, What do we do, and Who do we want to become? 

Through this process, we’ve defined ourselves as a ‘Cross-Border Payments company building the Payments Infrastructure for the 21st century’. 

While this accurately represented our core capabilities, we realised that the term ‘Infrastructure’ can be confusing. It conveys something powerful and foundational but is also esoteric, and at times, could seem overwhelming and intangible for our customers.

To bridge this gap and emphasize the reach of our network, we decided to show our capabilities in a simple modular structure.

It’s also incredibly scalable. As we build new features onto the existing foundation, we get closer to our goal of becoming the Payments Infrastructure of the Future.

So it’s about providing clarity, choice and value while remaining true to our core identity.

What’s going to change for the current Thunes customers? 

Our customers can look forward to a transformative shift in their interactions with us. By bringing them this new way to work with Thunes, we can offer an upgrade of our services, and a broader and deeper range of capabilities that cater to their evolving needs. 

We are sure they will appreciate the enhanced services that we offer. Ultimately, it will empower them to achieve their cross-border payment ambitions more effectively. This is how we will deliver even greater value, clarity and flexibility.

Learn more: Thunes products and modules.