Ripple and Thunes announced an expansion of their partnership aimed at accelerating cross-border settlement across a network that connects to over 7 billion mobile wallets and bank accounts worldwide on Tuesday, September 2. Building on a collaboration first established in 2020, the companies said the latest agreement will improve payout speed and predictability for financial institutions and enterprises while extending coverage into new currencies and markets. Thunes Taps Ripple To Power 7 Billion Wallets Thunes, which describes its infrastructure as a “Smart Superhighway” for moving money globally, has integrated blockchain and digital-asset rails to enhance its proprietary Direct Global Network. By combining that network with Ripple’s blockchain-powered payments stack, the firms say banks, fintechs and crypto companies gain more efficient on/off-ramps and deeper local connectivity. Ripple’s enterprise customers, in particular, will be able to withdraw funds more easily in additional currencies and jurisdictions, tightening last-mile delivery in regions with limited banking infrastructure. The companies framed the deal as both a scale and a quality upgrade. Ripple said its Payments product now spans 90-plus payout markets representing “more than 90% coverage of the daily FX markets,” with a remit to provide fast, transparent and reliable cross-border transfers as well as compliant fiat–crypto on/off ramps. Thunes emphasized its role in dependable real-time local-currency payouts and said it is adopting Ripple Payments to bolster Thunes’ in-house SmartX Treasury System. “Members across both the traditional finance space and the digital assets ecosystem connect with Thunes,” said Chloe Mayenobe, President and COO at Thunes. “We are in a prime position to bridge these two worlds and drive the future of digital assets, and our alliance with Ripple underscores this. By supporting real-time settlement, and deep local integrations, we are enabling digital asset companies to deliver seamless, compliant, and accessible cross-border payments at scale.” Fiona Murray, Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Ripple, positioned the expansion as a continuation of the company’s enterprise push . “We are committed to reshaping the future of global payments through blockchain technology. Our partnership with Thunes accelerates our shared mission to improve the efficiency, speed, and security of global payments,” she said, adding that the combination of Thunes’ “extensive and trusted Direct Global Network” with Ripple’s digital-asset infrastructure is designed to enhance “payment speed, accessibility, and compliance across regions” while facilitating “seamless, low-cost transactions.” Thunes says its Direct Global Network reaches more than 130 countries and 80-plus currencies, connecting to over 7 billion mobile wallets and bank accounts as well as 15 billion cards through more than 320 payment methods, including super-apps and mobile money services such as GCash, M-Pesa, Airtel, MTN, Orange, AliPay and WeChat Pay. Network members span gig-economy platforms, super-apps, MTOs, PSPs, fintechs and banks. Ripple, described in the announcement as a leading provider of digital-asset infrastructure for financial institutions, is supplying the blockchain rails and enterprise tooling intended to standardize compliance and liquidity management across the expanded footprint. Beyond reach, both firms highlighted operational mechanics that have historically constrained cross-border payments : settlement speed, transparency of fees and FX, and local disbursement. The partners promise real-time or near-real-time payouts in local currencies, “deep local integrations” to reduce friction at the endpoint, and on/off-ramp optionality for clients that operate across fiat and digital-asset domains. Thunes’ Fortress Compliance Platform and treasury tooling are positioned as control layers that complement Ripple’s enterprise infrastructure in high-throughput corridors. While neither company disclosed new corridors or currencies by name nor the use of the XRP token, the expansion centers on distribution and payout depth as much as front-end coverage. At press time, XRP traded at $2.82.
