PhotonPay has raised $40 million in a Series C round led by Blockchain Capital, adding SBI Group as a new participant and securing further backing from IDG Capital, GL Ventures, and Lightspeed Faction. The payment infrastructure company plans to use the money to deepen its stablecoin-focused financial operating system, with product work spanning multi-asset wallets, card issuing, local clearing networks, and software tools designed for AI agents to execute financial tasks under preset controls.
The funding places PhotonPay among a group of cross-border payment firms seeking to turn stablecoins into back-end settlement infrastructure rather than a standalone trading product. Its model combines stablecoin liquidity with fiat accounts, foreign exchange, local payment rails, card programs, and business accounts through APIs that other companies can embed in their own products.
Blacksheep Technology acted as exclusive financial adviser on the Series C transaction, PhotonPay said.
Expansion targets local clearing and card programs
PhotonPay said the proceeds will support expansion of its multi-asset wallet, which connects stablecoin balances with fiat currencies and provides conversion and clearing functions inside a single account structure. The company is also targeting global card issuance and local settlement capabilities in selected markets.
That combination addresses a practical friction in international payments: businesses often need separate providers for account collection, currency conversion, vendor payouts, employee cards, and payment reconciliation. PhotonPay's approach aims to put those functions behind a unified technical interface, allowing platforms to build payment features without developing each banking and settlement connection independently.
The company said businesses using its platform can open local collection accounts across 17 markets and accept payments in more than 60 currencies. Its payout network supports more than 100 routes across local clearing systems, bank transfers, and digital wallets, including connections to 74 local e-wallets.
PhotonPay reported that approximately 97% of payouts arrive within hours or on the same day, while 68% are delivered in real time. The figures indicate that local payment connectivity, rather than stablecoin settlement alone, remains central to the company's proposition. Stablecoins can move value quickly between counterparties, but recipients and merchants frequently need local-currency delivery through domestic bank accounts or consumer wallets.
Company reports $65 billion in annualized volume
As of August 2026, PhotonPay said it was processing annualized transaction volume of $65 billion. It also reported holding 34 payment and financial licenses or regulatory authorizations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
PhotonPay serves more than 200,000 business customers in over 200 countries and territories, according to the company. Founded in Hong Kong in 2015, it operates 16 offices and employs nearly 600 people.
The company's card business has grown sharply over the past year, PhotonPay said. It issued 4.4 million cards during the 12 months ending in August, a 275% increase from the preceding year. Cards give payment platforms a way to extend their services beyond account-to-account transfers, allowing businesses to spend from operational balances while retaining centralized controls over limits, currencies, and approval rules.
PhotonPay said more than 100 enterprise and platform partners now use its embedded-finance offering. Those partners can integrate accounts, payments, and card issuance into their own applications, turning PhotonPay into infrastructure that may operate behind consumer-facing or business software rather than under its own brand.
Agent-ready payments move from demonstration to product plan
A central part of PhotonPay's expansion plan is an execution layer for AI agents. The company said it intends to support the model context protocol, or MCP, a standard that enables AI systems to connect with external tools and data sources. In PhotonPay's case, MCP support would expose account information, balances, card controls, and payment functions to authorized software integrations.
The practical challenge is not simply allowing an AI tool to initiate a payment. Financial systems need to establish who can authorize an action, how much can be spent, which counterparties are allowed, and when human staff must step in. PhotonPay said it is developing a policy-based execution framework alongside AI-assisted risk review tools that would flag complex cases for human assessment.
The company cited a live agentic-payment demonstration completed with Mastercard in May 2026 using a tokenized card. Tokenization replaces sensitive card details with a unique digital credential, helping reduce the exposure of underlying payment data during transactions.
The move toward agent-compatible payment systems could make automated finance more useful for businesses handling routine tasks such as supplier payments, subscription management, treasury transfers, or expense controls. Yet it also shifts attention toward permissioning and monitoring: an automated system with access to accounts and payment rails requires tighter restrictions than a chatbot merely retrieving balance information.
Banking links remain essential to the stablecoin model
PhotonPay said its institutional relationships include J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, and DBS, alongside connections to domestic payment systems such as Brazil's Pix and Mexico's SPEI. These links are a core part of its ability to bridge stablecoin balances with local currency collection and payout services.
The Series C financing suggests PhotonPay sees its next stage of growth in that bridge between digital settlement and regulated payment infrastructure. Its planned investment in local clearing, cards, wallets, and controlled agent execution extends beyond moving stablecoins across blockchains. The company is building toward a system in which businesses can hold, convert, pay, collect, and automate funds across stablecoin and fiat rails from the same operating layer.
For deeper insight into cross-border payments and stablecoin infrastructure, explore Toobit’s stablecoin analysis in this detailed guide.
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