Visa and Thunes expand Visa Direct’s reach to 1.5 billion Digital Wallets
12/02/2022
Partner to launch a cross-border send-to-wallet capability for SMBs and consumers
Visa (NYSE: V) is partnering with Thunes to make international transfers a breeze for individuals and small businesses. Through the partnership, Visa cardholders will be able to move money to 78 digital wallets and 1.5 billion accounts in 44 countries and territories. This partnership will expand Visa Direct’s reach to nearly 7 billion endpoints, including more than 3 billion cards, over 2 billion accounts and 1.5 billion digital wallets.
A growing number of Cambodians are in need of reliable international payments. Cambodia’s foreign trade volume reached US$41 billion in the first nine months of 2022, up 18 percent from US$34.76 billion in the same period last year1. Many Cambodians working abroad support families at home, while families are financing the education of their children abroad. There is also rising demand for special events like weddings and holidays overseas, resulting in some US$1.5 billion of personal remittances2 being paid and received by Cambodians in 2020.
A growing portion of these remittances find their way to e-wallets and bank cards as modern Cambodians adopt digital payments. According to Visa’s Consumer Payment Attitudes 2021 study3, 40 percent of consumers use wallets and cards, and 25 percent expect to use these more often to transfer money and pay their bills.
“This partnership facilitates another step away from cash and towards secure digital payments. As the world grows more connected, senders and recipients will no longer need to move money physically between the point of payout and their bank. This will give them peace of mind and make payments far more convenient while making personal finance more transparent. It helps us bring Cambodians a world of opportunities through the most innovative products and services,” said Ms. Ivana Tranchini, Visa’s Country Manager for Cambodia.
For the unbanked individuals in emerging markets, digital wallets are gaining traction as an empowering first entry point to the financial system. Consumers are not required to have a card or account to load or receive funds directly to their digital wallet, opening the potential for greater financial inclusion and enabling underserved populations opportunities to access financial products that meaningfully impact how they live and work.
“From an agricultural worker in Bangladesh to a young professional in London who is looking to send money to family overseas, Visa strives to create more ways for individuals and SMBs to participate in the global economy,” said Ruben Salazar Genovez, Global Head of Visa Direct. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Thunes and help enable quick and simple access to the financial system to more customers around the world who may use digital wallets as their primary financial instrument.”
Through this collaboration, Thunes’ B2B payments platform will connect to Visa Direct, adding a cross-border send-to-wallet capability to 78 digital wallet providers that are already integrated with Thunes. Through a simple integration of Visa Direct, 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 where wallets may be the go-to payment method.
Visa Direct provides financial institutions and eligible third parties access to the global Visa network to review information and conduct payments directly between Visa card accounts. These transfers use Visa’s highly secure and swift clearing and settlement mechanisms, ensuring safety and unparalleled speed.
“We are thrilled that of all the payment companies, Visa, the global leader in payments, is working with Thunes on this launch,” said Peter De Caluwe, CEO of Thunes. “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.”
With the addition of 1.5 billion digital wallets to its reach, Visa Direct now helps provide access to nearly 7 billion cards, accounts and digital wallets combined, across more than 190 geographies, supporting 160 currencies, connecting to 16 card-based networks, 66 domestic Automated Clearing House (ACH) schemes, 11 Real-Time Payment (RTP) networks and five payment gateways.
1 https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501166339/cambodias-trade-reach-41-billion-increase-of-18-percent-in-first-9-months/?p=1166339 - (t.ly/6gD8)
2 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BM.TRF.PWKR.CD.DT?locations=KH $1.27 bn remittances received, 0.22 paid in 2020
3 The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study was prepared by CLEAR in Aug-Sep 2021, surveyed amongst 6,520 consumers in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The study conducted face-to-face interviews with 520 Cambodian consumers across the country who are working part or full time with a demographic mix that sought to create a representative mix of ages and genders.
About Visa Inc.
Visa is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.
About Thunes
Founded in 2016, Thunes is a B2B company that powers payments for the world’s fastest-growing businesses - from Gig Economy giants such as Uber and Deliveroo and Southeast Asia's super-app Grab to global Fintech leaders such as PayPal and Remitly. Through a single, simple connection, consumers and businesses can send payments to – and get paid in – every corner of the world. Thunes currently supports 79 currencies, enables payments to 130 countries, and helps to accept 300 payment methods. In April 2022, Thunes acquired a controlling stake in a leading AML and Compliance Platform company Tookitaki, which now enables the company’s advanced compliance, anti-fraud, and anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities, setting an international benchmark for sustainable compliance. The company is headquartered in Singapore, with regional offices in London, Paris, Shanghai, New York, Dubai, Nairobi, Arizona, and Barcelona. For more information, visit www.thunes.com