barq joins forces with Thunes to power faster, world-class remittances across Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Thunes, the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, and barq, the rapidly-growing digital wallet in Saudi Arabia, announce the launch of barq’s enhanced remittance services to millions of consumers across the Kingdom.

Through Thunes’ trusted Direct Global Network, barq customers can now send money seamlessly across borders, with transactions delivered in real time to billions of mobile wallets and bank accounts worldwide. This milestone reinforces barq’s position as a leading mobile wallet in Saudi Arabia, offering international remittances, cards, and a wide range of innovative financial solutions to end users.

The launch follows the formation of the collaboration between Thunes and barq announced in 2024, focused on delivering growth, expanded reach, and a consistently trusted service to Saudi customers.

The Saudi Arabian remittance market, one of the largest in the world, is undergoing rapid change, driven by the country’s ambitious Vision 2030 programme to digitise payments. By combining barq’s local leadership with Thunes’ international reach, this alliance provides a best-in-class service for consumers.

Thamer Alharbi, Director of International Partnerships at barq, commented: “Our collaboration with Thunes has moved from vision to reality. By going live with these services, we are empowering our customers with faster, more reliable remittances and strengthening barq’s role as the digital wallet of choice in Saudi Arabia. This is another important step in our journey to deliver innovative and accessible financial services, and Thunes’ trusted solutions are helping us to deliver on this mission.”

Ahmad Yaacoub, VP MENA and Country Head for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Thunes, added: “We are proud to see our partnership with barq delivering impact at scale. With this live launch, Thunes and barq reaffirm their shared commitment to delivering efficient, and customer-focused payment experiences, supporting Saudi Arabia’s vision for a digital-first financial ecosystem.”

About Thunes:

Thunes is the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world. Thunes’ proprietary Direct Global Network allows Members to make payments in real-time in over 130 countries and more than 80 currencies. Thunes’ Network connects directly to over 7 billion mobile wallets and bank accounts worldwide, as well as 15 billion cards via more than 320 different payment methods, such as GCash, M-Pesa, Airtel, MTN, Orange, JazzCash, Easypaisa, AliPay, WeChat Pay and many more. Thunes’ Direct Global Network differentiates itself through its worldwide reach, in-house SmartX Treasury System and Fortress Compliance Platform, ensuring Members of the Network receive unrivaled speed, control, visibility, protection, and cost efficiencies when making real-time payments, globally. Members of Thunes’ Direct Global Network include gig economy giants like Uber and Deliveroo, super-apps like Grab and WeChat, MTOs, fintechs, PSPs and banks. Headquartered in Singapore, Thunes has offices in 14 locations, including Atlanta, Barcelona, Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Manila, Nairobi, Paris, Riyadh, San Francisco and Shanghai. For more information, visit: https://www.thunes.com/