Thunes has said how high the new limit is. It has not said how high the old one was. On 2 November the payments company announced a deeper alliance with UnionPay International to offer instant payouts to UnionPay cards in mainland China. The limit is up to US$10,000 per recipient cardholder in a single daily transaction. The release calls earlier cross-border limits “low” without giving a figure, so there is no way to tell how much has changed.
Payouts reach UnionPay cardholders at 79 major Chinese banks. Six are named: ICBC, ABC, BOC, CCB, BOCOM and CMB. Thunes connects its Direct Global Network to UnionPay International through a single API.
The service is offered to Thunes’ Network Members: financial institutions, payment service providers and money transfer operators. They are the ones who decide whether it is worth using, and their decision will turn on cost.
The release lists six sending corridors: Africa, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and the USA. The UK, Europe and the Gulf are not among them.
Thunes makes several claims it does not support with evidence. It says the service removes high setup costs, strict eligibility hurdles and ongoing technical maintenance. It also says the service eliminates system outage risks, unauthorised routing and service disruptions. The release gives no fees, no FX terms, no volumes and no definition of “instant”. UnionPay International is not quoted.
Chloé Mayenobe, Deputy CEO at Thunes, said: “By enabling high-capacity, direct-to-card payouts into China’s mainland, we are breaking down legacy barriers in one of the world’s most dynamic payment corridors. Unlocking these higher transaction limits supports the growth of our Members, empowering financial institutions everywhere to scale their cross-border flows into China with unmatched speed and compliance.”
Digital Trade Outlook’s View: Access Without a Price
A single connection to 79 Chinese banks lowers the barrier for payment firms that want to serve the China corridor. That adds competition for incumbent remittance providers on these six routes. But payment firms choose on cost, and without fees, FX terms or the previous limit there is no basis for comparison. UnionPay’s silence leaves open whether others can get the same terms.
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Image: Thunes and UnionPay logos