Wednesday, Visa partnered with Thunes, adding 1.5 billion digital wallets to the cross-border payments product Visa Direct.
The partnership will bring Visa Direct to Thune’s 44 countries and territories, expanding the program to 3 billion cards and 2 billion accounts.
Ruben Salazar Genovez, Global Head of Visa Direct, said the project helps small business owners worldwide send money.
“From an agricultural worker in Bangladesh to a young professional in London looking to send money to family overseas, Visa strives to create more ways for individuals and SMBs to participate in the global economy,” Genovez said.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Thunes and help enable quick and simple access to the financial system to more customers worldwide who may use digital wallets as their primary financial instrument.”
Digital wallets without real cards
For unbanked individuals in emerging markets, digital wallets are gaining traction as an empowering first entry point to the financial system. Founded in 2016, Thunes builds payments for digital wallets. Headquartered in Singapore, with offices worldwide, Thunes supports 79 currencies, enables payments to 130 countries, and helps accept 300 payment methods.
Peter De Caluwe, CEO of Thunes, said the firm powers gig economy giants like Uber and Deliveroo and fintechs like PayPal and Remitly.
“We are thrilled that of all the payment companies, Visa, the global leader in payments, is working with Thunes on this launch,” De Caluwe said. “Through the combined power of Visa’s scale and Thunes’ payment infrastructure, this collaboration has the potential to help develop a new global era for inclusive and accessible global payments.”
Under the new partnership, financial institutions, governments, neobanks, and money transfer operators will be able to utilize the new functionality to enable consumers and small businesses to send funds to markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.