Singapore-based payments company Thunes buys a majority of anti-money laundering and compliance player Tookitaki Holding.
Thunes is investing more than $20 million to take a majority stake in Tookitaki in a step that combines secure payment systems with tools aimed at preventing money laundering, a company press release indicated Monday.
Combining the two addresses a need for automated compliance processes that reduce costs for financial institutions and payment companies, the press release said.
Tookitaki’s customers include food delivery players Grab, Deliveroo and UberEats, money transfer companies Moneygram, Western Union and Remitly, payment provider Paypal, and e-wallet provider Singtel Dash.
Major Customers
In 2020, UOB said it developed its artificial intelligence-based (AI) anti-money laundering technology together with Tookitaki.
Peter De Caluwe, CEO of Thunes, said the tie-up would give his company’s customers access to compliance systems which would reduce the cost of cross-border money transfers.
«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,» he said in the statement.
Boosting Tookitaki’s Footprint
The alliance is expected to boost Tookitaki’s presence in the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas regions, the release indicated.
Tookitaki, which was founded in 2014, employs big data and machine-learning technologies as part of its anti-money laundering and compliance services.
It has raised a total of $20.5 million in funding from 28 investors, including Jungle Ventures, Enterprise Singapore, SIG China, Nomura Holdings and Seeds Capital, according to data from Crunchbase.
