Thunes Unlocks the US: A New Superhighway for Global Payments

SINGAPORE – June 03, 2026 – For decades, sending money into the United States from abroad has been a process fraught with friction, delays, and opaque fees. Now, global payments firm Thunes has unveiled a new infrastructure designed to dismantle these barriers, launching real-time payment capabilities that promise to make cross-border transactions as seamless as domestic ones. By combining a formidable regulatory footprint with direct technological integration, the company is not just offering a new service; it is executing a strategic overhaul of a critical artery in global commerce.

This move enables businesses and financial institutions on its network to send US dollars directly and instantly to American bank accounts. For a globalized economy increasingly reliant on freelance talent, international supply chains, and digital services, the shift from waiting days to paying in seconds represents a profound operational advantage, effectively shortening the economic distance to the world’s largest market.

The Operational Overhaul of Cross-Border Payments

The strategic rationale behind Thunes's initiative lies in its direct assault on the inefficiencies of the traditional correspondent banking system. Historically, an international payment destined for the US would journey through a chain of intermediary banks, each taking a fee and adding days to the settlement time. This multi-layered process is not only slow and costly but also introduces multiple points of potential failure, leading to a high rate of payment rejections and a frustrating lack of transparency.

Thunes’s solution is one of operational innovation through simplification. The company has established a direct connection with a tier 1 US financial institution, creating an express lane that bypasses the convoluted intermediary network entirely. This pipeline plugs directly into the core of the US domestic payment infrastructure, supporting payouts via the Automated Clearing House (ACH), Same-Day ACH, and modern real-time payment rails. By leveraging these domestic systems, Thunes allows its international clients to act like local payers. A single API integration gives them the flexibility to choose the optimal balance of speed and cost for their needs, whether it's cost-efficient batch processing via ACH or instant settlement for urgent transactions.

This direct model fundamentally changes the calculus of cross-border payments. Latency is drastically reduced, transactional costs are minimized by cutting out middlemen, and the risk of payment rejection plummets. For businesses that depend on reliable cash flow and predictable settlement, this represents a significant competitive edge.

Building a Regulatory Fortress

While the direct banking connection provides the technical pathway, the true enabler of this strategy is Thunes’s massive investment in regulatory compliance. The company has methodically secured 50 Money Transmission Licenses (MTLs) across US states and territories—a complex and capital-intensive undertaking that few fintech firms have completed. This comprehensive licensing is far more than a bureaucratic formality; it is a strategic moat that provides a powerful and durable competitive advantage.

Possessing this nationwide regulatory authority allows Thunes to operate directly and independently, without relying on third-party licensed partners that can introduce their own costs, complexities, and operational risks. This “regulatory fortress” grants the company the institutional-grade credibility required to forge direct relationships with top-tier financial institutions and provides the legal foundation for its entire US operation. For competitors, replicating this nationwide compliance framework represents a multi-year, multi-million-dollar challenge, solidifying Thunes's unique position in the market. It is this combination of deep regulatory integration and direct technical access that makes its promise of paying “like a local” a reality.

A Lifeline for the Global Digital Economy

The impact of this new infrastructure extends across a wide spectrum of the global economy. For the burgeoning gig economy, it offers a lifeline. Platforms that employ US-based freelancers and remote teams can now offer instant payouts, a critical differentiator in the fierce competition for top talent. Money transfer operators can provide cheaper, faster, and more predictable remittance services to families receiving funds in the US. For international corporations, the ability to settle large B2B invoices instantly and without ambiguity transforms treasury management and strengthens supplier relationships.

Chloé Mayenobe, Deputy CEO of Thunes, highlighted the scale of the problem her company is solving. "USD payments into the US have historically been sluggish, opaque, and heavily burdened by fees associated with cross-border money movement - particularly for businesses," she stated. "By leveraging our licenses across the states to introduce connections to direct, real-time domestic rails alongside institutional-grade USD clearing, we are addressing a multi-trillion-dollar market gap."

The sentiment was echoed by Ximena Azcuy, Head of Network - Americas, who described the integration as an "absolute game-changer for international businesses and end users." She added, "We are opening the floodgates for seamless, high-volume cross-border money movement into the United States." The ultimate goal is to abstract away the complexity of international finance, making a payment from Singapore to Seattle feel no different than one from San Francisco to San Diego.

The Strategic Blueprint for a New Payment Era

This US launch is a cornerstone of Thunes's broader ambition to build a “Smart Superhighway” for global money movement. The company, which already boasts a network spanning 140 countries and 90 currencies, is systematically upgrading the world’s financial plumbing, market by market. Its strategy of combining deep regulatory licensing with direct access to domestic payment rails provides a scalable and resilient model for challenging the status quo.

Furthermore, the company's long-standing partnership with blockchain leader Ripple indicates a forward-looking approach that embraces a hybrid financial future, bridging the worlds of traditional banking and digital assets. This positions Thunes not just to compete with other fintechs like Wise or Remitly, but also to offer a compelling alternative to the legacy systems used by incumbent banks. As global commerce becomes increasingly digital and borderless, the demand for payment infrastructure that is fast, transparent, and reliable will only grow. By cracking the code to the US market, Thunes has not only achieved a significant milestone but has also set a new standard for what is possible in global payments.