Thunes deepens North Asia reach with WireBarley real-time payments pact for Korea remittances

New updates have been reported about Thunes.

Thunes has entered a strategic collaboration with Asia-Pacific payment platform WireBarley to power real-time cross-border payments into and out of South Korea, anchoring its expansion in a $7.45 billion outbound remittance market. By plugging WireBarley’s 1.1 million users into Thunes’ Direct Global Network, the deal turns Thunes into a primary rail for faster remittances and B2B flows across seven sending countries and 520 payout corridors, including key routes linking South Korea with the U.S., Australia and Vietnam.

The partnership gives Thunes immediate scale and localized access in one of North Asia’s most sophisticated financial markets, while WireBarley leverages Thunes’ infrastructure to accelerate its own international growth. With South Korea’s digital remittance segment forecast to grow at a 16.7% CAGR through 2030, Thunes positions itself to capture rising transaction volumes by enabling real-time payouts into Korea and modernizing both consumer and corporate capital flows.

Management frames the alliance as a two-way growth gateway: Thunes brings global reach, its SmartX Treasury System and Fortress Compliance Platform, while gaining deep on-the-ground expertise through WireBarley’s Korean footprint. Thunes CEO Peter De Caluwe said the collaboration advances the company’s strategy to remove fragmentation in global money movement and reinforces its presence in North Asia by linking South Korea more tightly to its network of 140+ countries and 90+ currencies.

For Thunes’ existing members, including global platforms, fintechs and financial institutions, the tie-up adds high-speed, local payout capabilities into South Korea without additional bilateral integrations. Strategically, the move strengthens Thunes’ competitive position as a preferred infrastructure partner for digital remittances and cross-border B2B payments, supporting future volume growth, operating leverage on its network, and broader monetization of treasury and compliance services as regional corridors continue to digitize.