PhotonPay, a Hong Kong payments company, has closed a $40m Series C round led by Blockchain Capital. Japan's SBI Group joined as a new investor, and existing backers IDG Capital, GL Ventures and Lightspeed Faction invested again. The company announced the round on 30 October 2026.
Blacksheep Technology acted as the company's exclusive financial adviser on the deal. PhotonPay did not disclose a valuation.
“Moving money across borders in seconds means little if it still takes days to put that capital to work”Lewison Chen, Founder and CEO, PhotonPay
What PhotonPay does
PhotonPay was founded in Hong Kong in 2015. It sells what it calls a stablecoin-centric financial operating system to businesses that trade across borders. The platform connects stablecoin balances with ordinary bank currencies, foreign exchange, local clearing networks and corporate cards, all through one set of APIs.
The company says it had an annualised transaction volume of $65bn as of August 2026 and serves more than 200,000 business customers in over 200 countries and territories. It holds 34 payment and financial licences and regulatory authorisations across the Americas, Europe and Asia, has 16 offices and employs nearly 600 people.
Businesses can open local collection accounts in 17 markets and receive money in more than 60 currencies. PhotonPay offers more than 100 payout routes, including payouts to 74 local e-wallets, and says about 97% of payouts arrive within hours or on the same day. It issued 4.4 million cards in the 12 months before the announcement, up 275% from a year earlier. Its institutional partners include J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered and DBS.
What the money is for
PhotonPay said the money will go into wallets that hold several kinds of assets, wider card issuing around the world, local clearing systems in key markets, and a layer that lets AI agents make payments within set rules.
That last area is a growing focus. In May 2026 PhotonPay and Mastercard completed a live demonstration of a payment started by an AI agent, using a tokenised PhotonPay card. The company plans to support the Model Context Protocol, a standard for connecting AI agents to tools, and is building a system to enforce spending limits and per-transaction controls for agents.
Founder and chief executive Lewison Chen argued that fast cross-border transfers are not enough if businesses still wait days to use the money once it arrives.
Who invested
Blockchain Capital, a US venture firm focused on crypto and blockchain companies, led the round. Partner Yuanhan Li said businesses want a single provider that can handle payments across currencies and markets.
SBI Group invested through SBI Ven Capital. Its chief executive, Eiichiro So, said linking digital assets with traditional financial infrastructure will be essential, and that SBI hopes to work with PhotonPay across the group's businesses.
IDG Capital, GL Ventures and Lightspeed Faction are existing investors, according to DealStreetAsia. Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to currencies such as the US dollar, and PhotonPay's platform lets businesses move between them and ordinary bank balances.
Company website: photonpay.com