Thunes, a Singapore-based global payments company, announced Tuesday that it has taken a majority stake in the Singapore-based anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance technology firm Tookitaki Holding Pte Ltd by making an investment of over $20 million.

The alliance of both firms empowers the banking and financial services industry to fight money laundering and offer safe and secure payments to customers, both parties said in a statement.

It said that adding Tookitaki to Thunes’ global network addresses an urgent need for payments and other financial institutions to embed automated, streamlined compliance processes, decreasing risks and reducing overall costs.

Thunes is able to extend Tookitaki’s industry-leading compliance and AML capabilities to further safeguard the businesses and create more transparency around the payment flows of its global customers, it added.

Tookitaki customers include gig economy platforms Grab, Deliveroo, UberEats; Digital money transfer operators Moneygram, Western Union and Remitly; neobank Revolut; and fintech and mobile wallets Paypal, Singtel Dash, M-PESA and Airtel. The company tracks over 180 million transactions annually.

“This alliance will give all Thunes customers access to next-generation tech compliance systems, reducing the cost of transferring money across borders. At the same time, all Tookitaki’s banking and fintech clients will automatically gain access to Thunes’ network, unlocking pathways to scale globally. We’ve already identified multiple ways to grow faster together, increasing the value we provide to our customers. We’ll be working to accelerate our growth plans jointly,” said Peter De Caluwe, Chief Executive Officer of Thunes.

According to the statement, Thunes and Tookitaki businesses will continue to operate independently, with the alliance strengthening both companies and enabling them to accelerate their global business expansion.

“At Tookitaki, we have been passionate about fighting financial crime and expanding our AML capabilities globally. Thunes is recognized for its far reaching global network, and the alliance provides us with an ‘unfair’ opportunity to offer our proven and powerful AML solution to banks and fintechs across the fastest growing economies as well as the biggest,” said Abhishek Chatterjee, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tookitaki.

Singapore-based Tookitaki was founded in November 2014, and employs over 100 people across Asia, Europe and the US. It delivers AML and compliance solutions to some of the world’s leading banks and financial institutions, using big data and machine learning (ML) technologies.

According to the statement, the alliance with Thunes allows Tookitaki to deepen its presence in core Asia Pacific (APAC) markets, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. The alliance also sets the international benchmark for financial compliance and security and creates a safe and secure foundation for more inclusive global payments.

“Our approach to AML monitoring is highly adaptable to changing market needs and customer behavior and fundamentally changes how machine learning is applied to detecting financial crime,” added Abhishek.

Thunes is a business to business (B2B) company that powers payments for the world’s fastest-growing businesses. Through a single, simple connection, consumers and businesses can send payments to – and get paid in – every corner of the world. Thunes currently supports 79 currencies, enables payments to 126 countries, and helps to accept 285 payment methods. The company is headquartered in Singapore with regional offices in London, Paris, Shanghai, New York, Dubai, and Nairobi.

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