PhotonPay closes $40 million Series C led by Blockchain Capital to expand its stablecoin-focused Financial OS

PhotonPay, a Hong Kong-headquartered fintech company, announced on 29 October 2026 that it has closed a $40 million Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital. PhotonPay said the round includes participation from SBI Group and follow-on investments from IDG Capital, GL Ventures, and Lightspeed Faction. Blacksheep Technology was described by the company as the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction.

The company said the new funding will support expansion of what it calls its stablecoin-centric Financial Operating System (Financial OS). PhotonPay stated the investment priorities include enhancing multi-asset wallet capabilities, expanding global card issuing, strengthening local clearing infrastructure in key markets, and building an agent-ready financial execution layer.

PhotonPay also provided operating figures. The company said that, as of August 2026, its annualized transaction volume reached US$65 billion. It added that it has secured 34 payment and financial licenses and regulatory authorizations across the Americas, Europe and Asia. PhotonPay further claimed it serves over 200,000 business customers across more than 200 countries and territories.

Stablecoin liquidity positioned alongside fiat networks

In its announcement, PhotonPay framed its approach as combining stablecoin liquidity with traditional fiat infrastructure used for corporate operations and cross-border settlement. The company said its Financial OS connects on-chain liquidity with banking, clearing, and card networks through an API-first architecture.

PhotonPay said its multi-asset wallet is intended to connect stablecoin liquidity with fiat balances, integrating asset conversion, foreign exchange, and local clearing into a single workflow. It also said its network allows businesses to open local collection accounts in 17 key markets and receive funds in more than 60 currencies. On payouts, PhotonPay stated its network supports over 100 payment routes across local clearing systems, bank transfers, and digital wallets, including payouts to 74 major local e-wallets. The company claimed approximately 97% of payout transactions reach recipients within hours or on the same day, with 68% arriving in real time.

Card issuing and embedded finance

The company said its global card issuing capability extends Financial OS into programmable business spending. PhotonPay stated that through its APIs, businesses and platforms can issue virtual and physical cards, configure spending controls, and embed card payments into software and automated workflows.

PhotonPay also provided performance information for its card program, saying it issued 4.4 million cards over the past 12 months, up 275% year over year. It added that beyond first-party payment solutions, it makes its infrastructure available through embedded finance and said it serves more than 100 enterprise and platform partners.

Agentic execution and a policy-based layer

PhotonPay said it is working on a financial execution layer aimed at supporting AI agents. The company referenced an agentic payment demonstration it said took place in May 2026, describing a live test with Mastercard using a tokenized PhotonPay card across existing global card networks.

PhotonPay stated it is developing standardized financial interfaces for developers and AI agents, with planned support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The company said it aims to make account information, balances, card functions, and payments available as composable financial primitives within defined authorization boundaries. It also said it is developing a policy-based execution framework intended to enforce authorization rules, spending limits, and transaction-level controls, alongside AI-assisted risk review designed to escalate complex cases for human assessment.

Executive comments

PhotonPay founder and CEO Lewison Chen was quoted in the release saying moving money across borders quickly matters only if capital can be put to use through systems that connect stablecoins to local clearing and card networks. The company also quoted Chen on AI shifting financial workflows toward systems that coordinate execution across financial rails, positioning stablecoins and AI as changes to money movement and deployment rather than a replacement of “commerce.”

PhotonPay also quoted its Chief Compliance Officer JP Pi on the role of licensing, institutional partnerships, and regulatory engagement in building local financial capabilities, and said software and AI models alone cannot replicate that depth.

The announcement included additional comments attributed to BCAP partner Yuanhan Li and SBI Ven Capital CEO and managing director Eiichiro So, both tying the investment to broader digital financial infrastructure and stablecoin integration goals.