Thunes alternative for exchange top-ups and withdrawals in USDT
Thunes funds payouts from a balance held with Thunes. With Unigox, exchanges holding USDT or USDC let users withdraw to bank or mobile money and deposit in local currency. Stay with Thunes for card payouts and US users.
When to stay with Thunes
Your treasury is in fiat or EURC
Thunes gives bank details to top up each balance, and eligible Members prefund in USDC or EURC instead. USDC stays USDC until a payout converts it. Unigox funds payouts only from USDT or USDC.
You also pay cards and stablecoin wallets
One Thunes connection, by API or over Swift, reaches bank accounts, mobile wallets, Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay cards, and USDC or USDT wallets. On Unigox, a payout goes to a bank or mobile money account.
You serve people in the United States
Unigox does not currently offer its services in the United States, while Thunes holds money transmitter licences in 50 US states and payment institution status in France, the UK and Singapore.
Thunes and Unigox for USDT payouts
| Topic | Thunes | Unigox |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Members of its payout and collection network: banks, money transfer operators, PSPs, mobile wallets, gig and payroll platforms, and digital asset companies. | Companies that hold USDT or USDC and want to pay their users, or collect from them, in local currency from their own app. |
| Funding payouts | A balance held with Thunes, topped up by bank transfer or prefunded in USDC or EURC by eligible Members. Its API reference also lists USDT and USDC as funding currencies. | USDT or USDC in your partner wallet. Your server signs one transfer into on-chain escrow per order. If a payout stops, it signs the refund back to the wallet. |
| User top-ups and withdrawals | Account Top Up lets users of major exchanges and digital asset platforms top up a fiat wallet with local payment methods, and Account Withdrawal pays them out to bank accounts and local wallets. | The user pays by bank transfer or mobile money, and USDT or USDC is released into your partner wallet once the payment is confirmed. Withdrawals are paid from the same wallet to the user's own bank or mobile money account. |
| Who pays the recipient | Thunes, through direct connections to banks, mobile wallets, card schemes and a stablecoin payout partner. | A payment business connected to Unigox, or an individual P2P merchant, pays the user's own bank or mobile money account. You can limit a quote to payment businesses. |
| Quote and fees | No public price list. An API quotation locks the FX rate and lists Thunes' fees. Confirming holds the amount from your balance, and it comes back if the transfer fails. | Each quote lists the rate, the Unigox fee, your own percentage fee and the total. Your fee lands in your partner wallet when the order completes. An order that does not complete is not charged. |
| Connecting and testing | API with HTTP Basic authentication, or Swift. Production and pre-production are reached over HTTPS or IPSec VPN, with endpoint details sent when your account is created. | REST API with an X-API-Key header, and a sandbox with the same endpoints as production once KYB and setup are done. Postman collection and signing examples in Python, JavaScript and C#. |
| Regulation | FinCEN registration and money transmitter licences in 50 US states, FINTRAC registration in Canada, a French payment institution licence extended to the EU, FCA and MAS authorisations, and a Hong Kong money service operator licence. | Unigox works through two companies: UNIGOX NETWORK CORP. in Canada handles the local-money side and is registered with FINTRAC as a money services business and with the Bank of Canada as a payment service provider; UNIGOX NETWORK CORP. in Panama handles the crypto side, including wallets and escrow. |
UnigoxMove a payout flow from Thunes to Unigox
Apply with company documents
Start at unigox.com/business with your registration, ownership and source-of-funds documents. Thunes membership checks do not carry over; API keys come after approval.
Map your Thunes calls
A Thunes quotation, transaction and confirmation become a Unigox quote, an order and a transfer your server signs. Build the flow in the sandbox with the Postman collection.
Hold USDT in the partner wallet
Top up the partner wallet in USDT or USDC in place of a Thunes balance, then switch to the production key. Each user passes a Unigox identity check before a first order, and an eligible Sumsub or Persona check can be reused.
Questions about Thunes competitors
Who are Thunes' main competitors?
Other cross-border payout companies with one API include Nium, Rapyd, Airwallex and dLocal, and we compare each of them with Unigox on its own page. Unigox covers a narrower job: a crypto platform that holds USDT or USDC and pays its users, or takes their deposits, in local currency by bank or mobile money.
See all business comparisonsWhat changes when we move from the Thunes API to the Unigox Payments API?
Both start with a quote. Thunes locks an FX rate in a quotation and holds the amount from your Thunes balance when you confirm. Unigox shows the rate, its fee, your fee and the total, then your server signs the USDT or USDC transfer into escrow. Thunes uses HTTP Basic authentication; Unigox uses an X-API-Key header.
Can an exchange take user deposits through Unigox instead of Thunes?
Yes, in the currencies Unigox serves. The user pays by bank transfer or mobile money and USDT or USDC reaches your partner wallet. Thunes' Account Top Up credits a fiat wallet on your platform, and its Account Withdrawal pays users out. Check which of your markets each one covers before you build.
See the Payments APICan we keep Thunes and add Unigox?
Yes. Keep card and stablecoin wallet payouts, and any Swift connection, on Thunes, and send the bank and mobile money payouts you fund from USDT through Unigox. Your Thunes balance and membership checks do not move across: Unigox checks your company and each user, and pays only from your partner wallet.
Tell us where your users cash out
Send us the markets where your users top up and withdraw, and the stablecoin you hold. We reply with the currencies and payment methods the Payments API covers there.
Thunes and other names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners. Unigox is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by them. Information about other companies comes from public sources, mainly the companies' own websites, and each company can change its products and fees at any time.