Singapore-based payments network Thunes has expanded its UnionPay International connection to support instant payouts of up to $10,000 per recipient cardholder per day across 79 major banks in mainland China.

The November 2 upgrade builds on the direct technical connection the companies launched in January. It gives financial institutions, payment service providers and money-transfer operators using Thunes a higher-capacity route for consumer payouts to UnionPay cards.

Thunes said the expanded service is available for corridors that include Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and the United States. The company positions the higher limit as a way to reduce the need for customers to split larger personal transfers across several days.

The company announcement says its Direct Global Network connects to UnionPay International through a single application programming interface. Supported institutions include Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications and China Merchants Bank.

UnionPay International confirmed the original direct-connection launch in January. At that time, the companies said the service would support cross-border remittances from markets including Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom and France, with funds paid directly in renminbi to eligible UnionPay cards.

The original service connected Thunes to UnionPay’s MoneyExpress remittance infrastructure, removing intermediate processing steps used in some cross-border routes. UnionPay said in January that its cross-border remittance network had reached 57 countries and regions and worked with more than 60 overseas institutions and about 80 domestic banks.

The new announcement does not change the basic network connection. Its main development is the daily transaction capacity of up to $10,000 per recipient cardholder and the stated availability of the service to Thunes members operating across additional sending corridors.

Thunes Deputy CEO Chloe Mayenobe said the higher limit is intended to help member institutions scale cross-border flows into mainland China. The company also said the route uses its compliance and security controls, but it did not disclose transaction volume, fees or expected uptake.

The product is aimed at institutional members rather than a standalone consumer app. Individual availability will therefore depend on whether a bank, wallet, remittance provider or other Thunes member exposes the route to its customers and on the applicable compliance checks in the sending market.

Thunes partners UnionPay International to offer instant money transfers to China’s mainland