Key Takeaways
- • Hong Kong-founded fintech PhotonPay raised $40 million in a Series C round anchored by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Japan's SBI Group and existing investors IDG Capital, GL Ventures, and Lightspeed Faction.
- • PhotonPay reported annualised transaction volume of $65 billion as of August 2026 and serves more than 200,000 business customers across over 200 countries and territories.
- • The company holds 34 payment and financial licences and regulatory authorisations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and operates local collection accounts in 17 markets.
- • PhotonPay issued 4.4 million cards in the 12 months before the announcement, up 275% year over year.
- • Proceeds will fund multi-asset wallets, global card issuing, local clearing infrastructure, and AI agent payment services.
Summary
Hong Kong-founded fintech PhotonPay has announced it raised $40 million in a Series C funding round anchored by Blockchain Capital, an investor in Coinbase, Circle, and Kraken. Japan's SBI Group also backed the round, alongside existing investors IDG Capital, GL Ventures, and Lightspeed Faction, as the company expands its stablecoin-focused payments infrastructure.
Founded in Hong Kong in 2015, PhotonPay provides payment infrastructure through application programming interfaces that let businesses and technology platforms embed financial services into their own products. According to the company, its network enables customers to open local collection accounts in 17 markets, receive funds in more than 60 currencies, and make payouts through more than 100 payment routes. PhotonPay said annualised transaction volume reached $65 billion as of August 2026, and that it serves more than 200,000 business customers across over 200 countries and territories.
The company holds 34 payment and financial licences and regulatory authorisations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. PhotonPay said about 97% of its payout transactions reach recipients within hours or on the same day, with 68% arriving in real time. It issued 4.4 million cards in the 12 months leading up to the announcement, a 275% increase from a year earlier.
The proceeds will fund multi-asset wallets, global card issuing, local clearing infrastructure, and payment services for AI agents. PhotonPay said it is developing infrastructure for AI-driven financial transactions, and in May 2026 completed a live demonstration with Mastercard of an AI-initiated payment using a tokenised PhotonPay card across existing global card networks. The article notes, however, that expanding AI-enabled financial services will depend on banking relationships, regulatory approvals, and payment infrastructure rather than software alone. JP Pi, chief compliance officer at PhotonPay, said that "Establishing local financial capabilities takes years of investment, institutional partnerships, and regulatory engagement. Software or AI models alone cannot replicate that depth." Lewison Chen, founder and chief executive, said that "Moving money across borders in seconds means little if it still takes days to put that capital to work."
Founded in Hong Kong in 2015, PhotonPay provides payment infrastructure through application programming interfaces that let businesses and technology platforms embed financial services into their own products. According to the company, its network enables customers to open local collection accounts in 17 markets, receive funds in more than 60 currencies, and make payouts through more than 100 payment routes. PhotonPay said annualised transaction volume reached $65 billion as of August 2026, and that it serves more than 200,000 business customers across over 200 countries and territories.
The company holds 34 payment and financial licences and regulatory authorisations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. PhotonPay said about 97% of its payout transactions reach recipients within hours or on the same day, with 68% arriving in real time. It issued 4.4 million cards in the 12 months leading up to the announcement, a 275% increase from a year earlier.
The proceeds will fund multi-asset wallets, global card issuing, local clearing infrastructure, and payment services for AI agents. PhotonPay said it is developing infrastructure for AI-driven financial transactions, and in May 2026 completed a live demonstration with Mastercard of an AI-initiated payment using a tokenised PhotonPay card across existing global card networks. The article notes, however, that expanding AI-enabled financial services will depend on banking relationships, regulatory approvals, and payment infrastructure rather than software alone. JP Pi, chief compliance officer at PhotonPay, said that "Establishing local financial capabilities takes years of investment, institutional partnerships, and regulatory engagement. Software or AI models alone cannot replicate that depth." Lewison Chen, founder and chief executive, said that "Moving money across borders in seconds means little if it still takes days to put that capital to work."
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