Sterling Bank has partnered with global cross-border payments company Thunes to make international money transfers faster and more transparent for Nigerians living abroad. The deal connects Sterling Bank to Thunes’ Direct Global Network, enabling funds to move directly from multiple European countries into Sterling Bank accounts.
The partnership is aimed at reducing long-standing challenges in cross-border payments, including slow settlement times, high fees, and unfavourable exchange rates. For many Nigerians in the diaspora, remittances are a regular financial responsibility, supporting household expenses and essential bills back home. In 2024 alone, Nigerians abroad sent over $20 billion back to the country, a 9% increase from the previous year.
According to Thunes, the collaboration is designed to simplify how money moves across borders while improving reliability for users. “Together, we’re enabling a new level of convenience, speed, and confidence for customers managing finances across borders,” said Daniel Parreira, Senior Vice President of Sales for Africa at Thunes.
The Sterling deal adds to Thunes’ growing footprint in Nigeria’s banking sector. In 2023, the company partnered with Access Bank to support cross-border payments across several African markets.
For Sterling Bank, the partnership fits into a broader push to modernise its payment infrastructure and compete more effectively with fintechs and digital wallets that already dominate diaspora remittances. In September 2025, the bank reported that its proprietary core banking system, SEABaaS, processed two billion transactions within a year without any downtime, highlighting its readiness to handle higher transaction volumes.
By integrating directly with Thunes, Sterling Bank can now offer remittance services that allow customers to fund their accounts from overseas bank accounts, providing an alternative to third-party remittance apps.
The move comes amid intensifying competition in Nigeria’s cross-border payments space. Mobile money platforms and fintechs are also strengthening their remittance offerings. In November 2025, MTN’s MoMo Payment Service Bank partnered with Thunes to allow Nigerians receive international transfers in real time through mobile wallets from markets such as the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
As demand for faster and more affordable remittance services grows, Sterling Bank is positioning itself to capture a larger share of formal inflows by giving its customers more direct and reliable options.
“With Thunes’ trusted technology, we’re offering our customers a faster, more reliable, and more affordable way to fund their Sterling Bank accounts from abroad,” said Ayodeji Saba, Head of Switch and Remittances at Sterling Bank. “This is a significant step forward for our diaspora community.”