SINGAPORE, April 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Thunes, the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, today announced it has joined the Circle Payments Network (CPN) Managed Payments. This initiative marks a significant milestone in Thunes’ mission to achieve total interoperability across the global financial landscape, bridging the gaps between traditional banking, mobile wallets, and the digital assets ecosystem.
As part of this alliance, Thunes will enable access to CPN Managed Payments for its customers, enabling stablecoin-powered settlement capabilities while allowing them to continue operating within existing fiat-based workflows. The collaboration underscores Thunes’ ambition to make every payment system, regardless of its underlying technology, fully interoperable, allowing money to move as freely and instantly as information.
A Legacy of Innovation: Thunes and Circle Since 2024
This collaboration builds upon a robust foundation established in 2024, when Thunes and Circle first joined forces as early adopters of stablecoin-powered liquidity. Since then, the two companies have worked to integrate USDC into Thunes’ Direct Global Network, transforming how liquidity is managed across more than 140 countries.
By utilising USDC for near real-time settlement, Thunes has successfully eliminated the constraints of traditional banking hours and the need for heavy pre-funding in local “nostro” accounts. For Thunes’ Members, including banks, gig economy platforms, and money transfer operators, this has translated into:
- 24/7 Prefunding: Enabling round-the-clock liquidity management and real-time funding regardless of banking hours.
- Capital Efficiency: Freeing up millions in working capital previously trapped in dormant accounts.
- Unrivaled Reach: Seamlessly connecting 12 billion mobile and stablecoin wallets and bank accounts to the speed and transparency of blockchain rails.
Chloé Mayenobe, Deputy CEO at Thunes, said, “Joining CPN Managed Payments is the natural next step in our journey to make the world’s payment systems truly interoperable. Our goal has always been to remove the borders from money movement. By deepening our long-standing collaboration with Circle, we are ensuring that whether a customer uses a traditional bank account in Europe, a mobile wallet in Africa, or digital assets in Asia, the experience is fast, secure, and invisible. We are building the bridge between these universes to support the future of the global economy.”
Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Circle, said: “Thunes brings deep expertise in global payment connectivity and operational scale. Their experience operating across diverse payment ecosystems provides valuable input as we continue to develop the Circle Payments Network and expand access to stablecoin-powered settlement for financial institutions globally.”
About Thunes:
Thunes is the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world. Thunes’ proprietary Direct Global Network allows Members to make payments in real-time in over 140 countries and more than 90 currencies. Thunes’ Network connects directly to over 12 billion mobile wallets, stablecoin wallets and bank accounts worldwide, as well as 15 billion cards via more than 220 different payment methods, such as GCash, M-Pesa, Airtel, MTN, Orange, JazzCash, Easypaisa, AliPay, WeChat Pay HK and many more. Thunes’ Direct Global Network differentiates itself through its worldwide reach, in-house SmartX Treasury System and Fortress Compliance Platform, ensuring Members of the Network receive unrivaled speed, control, visibility, protection, and cost efficiencies when making real-time payments, globally. Members of Thunes’ Direct Global Network include gig economy giants like Uber and Deliveroo, super-apps like Grab and WeChat, MTOs, fintechs, PSPs and banks. Headquartered in Singapore, Thunes has offices in 14 locations, including Atlanta, Barcelona, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Manila, Nairobi, Paris, Riyadh, San Francisco and Shanghai. For more information, visit: https://www.thunes.com/
About Circle Internet Group (Circle)
Circle is one of the world’s leading internet financial platform companies, building the foundation of a more open, global economy through programmable blockchain infrastructure, digital assets, and payment applications.
Circle’s platform includes the world’s largest stablecoin network anchored by USDC, Circle Payments Network for global money movement, and Arc, an enterprise-grade blockchain designed to become the Economic OS for the internet. Enterprises, financial institutions, and developers use Circle to power trusted, internet-scale financial innovation. Learn more at circle.com
