---
title: "International Payments Platform Mural Secures $15 Million Funding Round"
url: https://newscentral.site/international-payments-platform-mural-secures-15-million-funding-round/
language: en
publisher: "News Central Site"
section: "Business"
published: 2026-10-20T14:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-10-21T09:46:06.625Z
id: a569b2d6-9c87-442a-a8b2-589c37bb3e74
source: "Fortune https://fortune.com/2026/10/20/mural-startup-former-palantir-engineers-15-million-bid-banks-bot-economy/"
attribution: "Link to https://newscentral.site/international-payments-platform-mural-secures-15-million-funding-round/ and name News Central Site when you quote or summarize this story."
---

# International Payments Platform Mural Secures $15 Million Funding Round

Mural has secured a $15 million funding round to develop its international payments platform, with plans to expand capabilities and simplify cross-border transactions.

A New York-based startup, Mural, has secured a $15 million funding round to develop its platform aimed at simplifying international payments for businesses. The company's founders, Sinclair Toffa and Chris Fernandes, both former engineers at Palantir, established the business in 2022.

Mural plans to use the fresh funds to expand its capabilities, enabling customers such as payroll providers, software companies, and fintechs to manage multiple currencies, including traditional dollars and stablecoins, through a single account. This streamlined approach is expected to simplify the often complex process of international transactions.

According to Mural's CEO, Sinclair Toffa, the startup is building a "compliant system of record" that will allow businesses and fintech companies to launch new financial products on top of its platform. The goal is to provide a single, unified solution for managing cross-border payments.

The emergence of stablecoins has significantly altered the way money moves globally, with these cryptocurrencies offering fast and cheap transactions across borders. Stablecoin payments reached approximately $400 billion in the first eight months of 2026, up from the same period in the previous year, according to a report by global consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal.

The use of stablecoins for international transfers has also seen considerable growth, with cross-border stablecoin flows totaling $220 billion between July 2025 and June 2026. This represents an increase of nearly 78% compared to the preceding 12 months, as per blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Mural's platform aims to address the challenges faced by businesses in navigating complex payment systems, which involve juggling banks, payment providers, and various regulations. By providing a single point for managing international payments, Mural seeks to make global commerce faster and more efficient.

Mural's latest funding round has secured $15 million in investment, bringing its total funding to $28 million. The Series A funding was led by Tether, the issuer behind the USDT stablecoin, and included participation from North Island Ventures.

Tether's involvement in Mural is significant, as it highlights the growing importance of AI agents in financial services. According to Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, the investment reflects a bet on AI agents becoming regular handlers of financial services. This will require payment systems that operate around the clock and can reach people across the world.

The interest in international payments at Mural stems from a personal experience of its founder. When he visited his grandfather's home country of Togo as a teenager, he witnessed firsthand the difficulties faced by relatives who received remittances from abroad. Transfers could take weeks to arrive and came with fees as high as 20% of the transaction amount.

This early exposure to the challenges of international payments has had a lasting impact on Mural's founder. His interest in blockchain and smart contract technology, which he developed during his computer science degree at Duke University, informed his approach to solving these problems.

Toffa, one of the founders of Mural, met Fernandes while working at Palantir, where they also became roommates. This connection led to a conversation about Mural's concept, which Fernandes was eager to join.

The company has expanded its presence beyond New York with offices in Denver and Bogotá, employing around 30 staff members across these locations and others in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico. The name "Mural" reflects the idea of communities collaborating on shared projects, much like businesses using the startup's software to build their own financial services.

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Source: [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/10/20/mural-startup-former-palantir-engineers-15-million-bid-banks-bot-economy/)  
Published by News Central Site: https://newscentral.site/international-payments-platform-mural-secures-15-million-funding-round/