- International payments company Thunes extends its Visa partnership to Asia and Africa, facilitating payments to over 108 digital wallet types and bank accounts in Kenya, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
- The collaboration between Visa and Thunes brings Visa Direct’s push-to-card feature to over 190 countries and territories, enhancing payment accessibility and convenience.
- In response to the rising popularity of digital wallets, Thunes highlights the increasing importance of mobile wallet interoperability for optimising payments, with many banks collaborating with Visa to enable cross-border transactions.
The international payments company Thunes is extending its Visa alliance into Asia and Africa.
Visa and Thunes partner to expand payment access
Visa and Thunes will work together to transmit payments to over 108 different digital wallet types and bank accounts throughout Kenya, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Pakistan. The new partnership was announced on Thursday, March 21.
Additionally, Thunes will put Visa Direct’s push-to-card functionality into practice, enabling payments to qualified Visa cards and accounts in more than 190 nations and territories.
Visa Direct’s push-to-card functionality allows for real-time payments directly to eligible Visa cards and accounts. This feature enables users to receive funds instantly, providing a convenient and efficient way to access funds without the need for physical checks or manual transfers.
Also read: Micropayment and Tink join forces to expand payment options in Europe
In a press release, the firm stated: “Digital wallets are an easy-to-use, rapid, and secure payment method surging in popularity. More than 60% of the world’s population is expected to use them by 2026.” They also mentioned that an increasing number of banks are collaborating with Visa to enable digital wallets to make cross-border payments.
The firm added:” Increasingly, these financial institutions see mobile wallet interoperability as a vital way to optimise payments to their consumers and business customers.”
Also read: Visa, Western Union expand cross-border money transfers
Strengthening the partnership
The a builds on Visa and Thunes’ original October 2022 partnership to expand Visa Direct’s access to 1.5 billion digital wallets. Furthermore, in July of last year, Visa participated in Thunes’ $60 million Series C expansion round.
Visa signed several other agreements in this area, such as one with fintech Brightwell, which uses Visa Direct to enable payments to qualified bank accounts and wallets on an international level.
Additionally, Visa and CIBC collaborated to make it easier for the bank’s customers to transfer money abroad to digital wallets located in the Philippines, China, Bangladesh, Kenya, and other significant remittance destinations.
