Meet the partner: Thunes

At BR-DGE, our partners are an integral part of our ecosystem and critical to our customers’ success.

In our Meet the Partner series, we highlight our collaboration with key partners, showcasing the products, functionality and benefits they deliver.

We sat down with Shaheen Budhrani, Strategic Partnerships Director at Thunes, to delve into their singular global payment system. We discuss the significance of partnerships in payments, our collaborative efforts with merchants and the essential elements for a successful collaboration.

What does Thunes do?

Thunes has built an extensive, cross-border payments network that allows businesses to collect and send funds across the globe. By directly bridging gaps between domestic payment endpoints—bank accounts, cards, and digital wallets - we ensure seamless transactions. As a result, our infrastructure eliminates the painful complexity surrounding traditional international transfers.

What sets us apart is that through a single API connection and relationship, businesses can process payments across 130 different markets and 85 currencies. In fact, this includes some of the most challenging yet rapidly expanding markets in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Additionally, we streamline transactions into bank accounts and major digital wallets like mPesa, WeChat, bKASH, and GrabPay, thereby eliminating the need for extra banking ties. Moreover, our payment rails support real-time transfers with guaranteed fees, cutting out intermediaries to make transactions more efficient.

In doing so, Thunes empowers top global brands like Revolut, Visa, Western Union, Adidas, Sephora, Grab, TikTok, Uber, and Airbnb, driving payment innovation..

How was Thunes founded and what was the market need?

Thunes was founded in 2016 to make the global economy more accessible. This includes underbanked populations in emerging markets. We connect payment networks worldwide. This helps move funds to four billion bank accounts and three billion wallets globally.

There is strong demand for what we do. Payments and the internet economy have gone digital. However, most systems are still domestic and operate in isolation. By connecting directly to these systems, we help commerce grow. We remove complexity and enable smooth, borderless transactions.

What current trends in digital payments are we seeing at Thunes?

The global rise in mobile wallet adoption has been fascinating to watch. It has transformed payments for both individuals and businesses. Digital wallets are becoming the norm, with 60% of the world’s population expected to use them daily by 2026. We're seeing more direct integrations with digital wallets, allowing users to bypass intermediaries and card networks. This boosts efficiency for businesses and consumers, and we expect the trend to keep growing.

Real-time payments (RTPs) are another key trend, with an annual growth rate of 35.5%. RTPs are now supported in 80 countries and are especially important in emerging markets. That's why we are focused on enhancing interoperability in this space.

How does the Thunes and BR-DGE payment partnership work?

Thunes enriches the BR-DGE platform, giving merchants access to over​ 300​ ​alternative payment methods, seamlessly integrated to offer customers diverse payment options. Alternative payment methods including mobile wallets, local bank payments and buy now-pay later (BNPL) options are integrated into the BR-DGE orchestration platform, ready for customer use.

Through our partnership, BR-DGE merchants can effortlessly tap into new markets and conduct cross-border commerce without the complexities of currency settlement or extensive technical development.

What are the key ingredients for a successful partnership?

Successful partnerships rely on close collaboration, transparency, and shared goals. Thunes and BR-DGE prioritise these elements, fostering innovation and value creation. Our collaborative effort showcases our aligned objectives around​ supporting and enabling global merchants to grow and transact across borders seamlessly. ​

For further information on accessing Thunes' global payment solutions and maximising the partnership through BR-DGE's orchestration suite, get in touch with the team.