Hong Kong-based PhotonPay has closed a $40 million Series C round led by Blockchain Capital, with Japan's SBI Group taking part. The company is building a single financial services system for businesses that combines stablecoin and traditional currency wallets, cross-border transfers, local clearing and card issuing. In August its annualised transaction volume reached $65 billion, with more than 200,000 business customers and 34 licences across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The new capital will go into cards, local infrastructure and a payments execution layer for AI agents.

What it means: PhotonPay represents a type of company that sees stablecoins not as a replacement for banks but as one more channel that has to connect with the existing ones. For a business paying suppliers in many countries, the problem is not only sending money quickly, but converting it into local currency, paying through the local system and having cards for everyday spending. Companies that combine all of this in one integration are winning customers from banks in cross-border payments, where fees and delays remain high. The reference to AI agents shows the industry preparing for software that will carry out payments on its own, within authorisation rules and spending limits. For Greek companies importing from Asia or exporting to emerging markets, such providers may offer cheaper options, but it is worth checking whether they are licensed in the EU, both as payment institutions and under the MiCA crypto regulation. Supervisory scrutiny will tighten as stablecoins enter ordinary corporate flows. The involvement of large Asian groups in the round shows the model also appeals to traditional financial players.

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