Manny Ita
LAGOS, NIGERIA and SINGAPORE — Sterling Bank, a major Nigerian commercial lender, has announced a landmark partnership with global B2B payments infrastructure company Thunes to streamline cross-border payments for the Nigerian diaspora.
The collaboration, announced Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, integrates Sterling Bank into Thunes’ Direct Global Network. The move is designed to simplify how the estimated 17 million Nigerians living abroad send funds home, targeting Nigeria’s $20 billion annual remittance market.
Through this alliance, Sterling Bank is rolling out enhanced payment capabilities across multiple European markets. The integration allows both new and existing account holders to fund their Nigerian accounts instantly from foreign bank accounts.
According to research released by Thunes, sending money home is a “regular and essential financial activity” for 46% of diaspora consumers in Europe, comparable in importance to paying rent or utility bills.
”This partnership reflects Sterling Bank’s deep commitment to making it easier for Nigerians abroad to send money home,” said Ayodeji Saba, Head of Switch & Remittances at Sterling Bank. “With Thunes’ trusted technology, we’re giving our customers a faster, more reliable, and more affordable way to fund their Sterling Bank accounts from their foreign bank accounts. It’s a major step forward in improving the experience for our diaspora community.”
The alliance is built on four primary pillars of improvement for cross-border banking. First, the network access provides a direct connection to Thunes’ infrastructure, which covers 130 countries and 80 different currencies. Second, the system prioritizes speed, enabling near-instant cross-border settlements directly into Sterling Bank accounts.
Third, the partnership ensures transparency by offering clear, upfront foreign exchange rates and reducing the typical friction associated with international wires. Finally, the market focus of the initial rollout is centered on the United Kingdom and European corridors, specifically facilitating transfers from British Pounds and Euros into Nigerian Naira.
The deal marks Thunes’ latest expansion into the Nigerian banking sector, following previous collaborations with Access Bank and MTN’s MoMo PSB. For Sterling Bank, the partnership leverages its “SEABaaS” homegrown core banking application, which recently reported processing two billion transactions without downtime.
”Welcoming Sterling Bank to our Direct Global Network marks another significant milestone in our expansion across Africa,” stated Daniel Parreira, SVP of Sales (Africa) at Thunes. “Together, we’re enabling a new level of convenience, speed, and confidence for customers managing finances across borders.”
The initiative aligns with a broader industry shift toward bank-based, authenticated payment methods over traditional card rails to support financial inclusion in emerging markets.
