Absa Selects Thunes for Multicurrency Clearing in Africa

In Short

Absa selected Thunes as a strategic Multicurrency Clearing partner on October 1, 2026. The deal aims to improve Absa’s cross-border payments across African markets.

What Happened

Absa has chosen Thunes to support Multicurrency Clearing, a setup that helps banks settle cross-border payments in different currencies without relying on slow, manual routing.

The partnership builds on the earlier launch of Absa Global Pay in South Africa. Absa said it plans to extend similar capabilities to more African markets and to clients moving money globally.

Thunes will connect Absa to its Direct Global Network, which the company says covers more than 140 countries, 90 currencies, and over 220 payment methods. “Payment methods” here means different ways money can land, like bank accounts, mobile wallets, or card-based payouts.

Absa also highlighted 24/7 liquidity, which means access to funds for settlement at any time, not only during banking hours. The companies also pointed to compliance controls, meaning checks designed to meet rules for anti-money laundering and fraud.

Executives from both firms marked the expanded alliance at SIBOS 2026 in Miami.

Why It Matters

Cross-border payments in Africa are often expensive and unpredictable. Costs come from FX spreads, intermediary banks, and fragmented payment rails, which are the “tracks” payments run on.

For businesses, better multicurrency clearing can reduce failed transactions and improve delivery speed for supplier payments, payroll, and marketplace payouts. For consumers, wider payout options can make remittances easier to receive, especially in mobile money-first markets.

The move also signals that large African banks are still partnering with global payments networks to improve FX access and settlement, rather than building everything in-house.