Hong Kong-based payments infrastructure provider PhotonPay has raised USD 40 million in a Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital. New investor SBI Group also took part, alongside existing investors IDG Capital, GL Ventures, and Lightspeed Faction. The funding will support the development of PhotonPay's stablecoin-based Financial Operating System (Financial OS), which combines stablecoin and fiat payment rails for businesses.
Wallets, local clearing, and card issuing
PhotonPay plans to use the capital to develop its multi-asset wallets, expand global card issuing, strengthen local clearing infrastructure in key markets, and build an execution layer for AI agents. Its platform connects stablecoin liquidity with fiat balances, foreign exchange, and local clearing. Businesses can open local collection accounts in 17 markets, receive funds in more than 60 currencies, and send payouts through more than 100 payment routes, including 74 local e-wallets.
In August 2026, PhotonPay's annualised transaction volume reached USD 65 billion. The company holds 34 payment licences and regulatory authorisations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and serves more than 200,000 business customers. Over the past 12 months, it issued 4.4 million cards, up 275% year on year. Its network includes partnerships with J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, and DBS, and connections to Brazil's Pix and Mexico's SPEI.
Preparing infrastructure for AI agents
In May 2026, PhotonPay and Mastercard completed a live agentic payment using a tokenised PhotonPay card, with authentication provided through Mastercard Agent Pay. PhotonPay is now developing interfaces for developers and AI agents, including planned support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), together with a policy-based framework to enforce authorisation rules, spending limits, and transaction-level controls on agent-initiated payments. The framework is designed to keep AI-initiated payments subject to explicit, auditable controls set by businesses.
Lewison Chen, Founder and CEO of PhotonPay, said stablecoins are speeding up global money movement, while local clearing and card issuing connect that liquidity to settlement and business spending. JP Pi, Chief Compliance Officer at PhotonPay, said building local financial capabilities requires years of investment, partnerships, and regulatory engagement. Yuanhan Li, Partner at Blockchain Capital, said businesses want a single provider for payments across currencies, markets, and payment methods.
