South Africa-based Absa Group has appointed Thunes as a strategic Multicurrency Clearing (MCC) partner as it looks to expand its cross-border payments capabilities across Africa and internationally.
The agreement follows the earlier launch of Absa Global Pay. The cross-border remittance service allows Absa customers to initiate transfers through the Absa Banking App or Connected Banking (Absa Online).
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Under the expanded relationship, the two groups will support Absa’s cross-border payments strategy in additional African markets and on global corridors.
To mark the development, senior executives from Absa and Thunes held a signing ceremony at SIBOS 2026 in Miami.
Absa is positioning multicurrency clearing as a core part of its cross-border payments roadmap. The bank said it plans to use the model to offer “greater speed, transparency, and choice in cross-border payments”.
The partnership links Absa’s pan-African footprint with the Thunes Direct Global Network. The integration is designed to support payments beyond bank accounts, including transfers to mobile wallets and card rails. It also includes round-the-clock liquidity and compliance controls.
Thunes Africa senior vice president Daniel Parreira said: “Our initial work with Absa demonstrated the tremendous impact of combining deep local banking relationships with interoperable global payment reach.
“By extending our collaboration and taking on a strategic Multicurrency Clearing role supporting Absa Group, we are providing the digital infrastructure and liquidity needed to connect African businesses and consumers to global payment ecosystems seamlessly.”
This year, Thunes also launched a direct-to-workforce cross-border payout solution aimed at businesses paying overseas remote teams, freelancers and gig workers. Businesses can access the service through a single API.
