Thunes

Thunes is a growth-stage operating company, not an investment firm. Strategic and capital-allocation decisions are led by CEO Peter De Caluwe, who co-founded the company and has guided it since its 2016 spinoff from TransferTo. The board includes representatives from key investors Helios Investment Partners and Marshall Wace.

Thunes does not source deal flow in the traditional investment sense. As a payment infrastructure provider, its 'deal flow' consists of partnership agreements with financial institutions, digital wallet operators, and regulatory bodies. These emerge from local licensing efforts and direct commercial outreach in over 30 markets, notably in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Neither. Thunes is an operating company — a B2B cross-border payments platform backed by institutional venture and private equity capital. It generates revenue from transaction fees on its network, not from managing third-party assets. Key backers include Helios Investment Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Marshall Wace.

Thunes avoids direct-to-consumer remittance marketing; its platform is purely B2B. It routes payments for licensed financial institutions and digital platforms, and its compliance program excludes jurisdictions subject to comprehensive sanctions, as well as merchant categories flagged as high-risk under its internal risk appetite framework.

Thunes was originally the B2B division of TransferTo, a mobile airtime credit and digital payments company. In 2016, the B2B unit was spun out as an independent entity under Peter De Caluwe's leadership. The two firms have since operated as separate companies with no formal ownership link.

Thunes actively partners with banks but replaces correspondent banking arrangements with direct integrations. Institutions like Standard Chartered use its network to reach markets where they lack direct clearing. Thunes does not co-invest; it provides a service layer that banks can white-label or integrate directly into their treasury operations.

Thunes maintains operational liquidity and regulatory capital as required by its payment institution licenses in Singapore, the United Kingdom, and other jurisdictions. It is not a bank and does not hold customer deposits. Transactional funds are typically ring-fenced in settlement accounts with partner financial institutions.