Ant International Lands $1.2B Mega-Round; Augustus Builds the "Global Dollar Bank"

Cross-border digital finance experienced a massive capital surge today. Singapore-based Ant International closed a colossal $1.2 billion Series E round backed by Ant Group and Alibaba Group, alongside other unnamed international investors. The capital is earmarked to support Ant International's global growth, as well as supporting innovation across merchant payments, account management and inclusive financial products. Ant International carries a valuation of roughly $10 billion going into the raise. The Singapore-based business was carved out of Jack Ma's Ant Group in 2024 to run independently, housing the group's payments ambitions outside China. The company's four units—Alipay+ (connecting mobile wallets to merchants across borders), Antom (merchant acquiring), WorldFirst (accounts and foreign exchange for online sellers), and Bettr (lending)—together reach more than 150 million merchants and around 2 billion user accounts across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The proceeds will be used to build Ant International's operations in merchant payment, account management and other financial services for small businesses.

API-first platform Augustus raised $180 million in a Series B round led by Tiger Global, valuing the business at $1 billion. The round included participation from Hummingbird, QED Investors, and the founders of Nubank, Ramp, Circle, and Deel. Augustus describes itself as building the "Global Dollar Bank"—a modern clearing bank built to provide dollar access to international fintechs and banks. The company's API-first platform supports operating and FBO (for benefit of) accounts alongside named virtual accounts, enabling customers to transact via Swift, ACH, SEPA, and stablecoins. The financing follows conditional approval granted to Augustus in May 2026 by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a US national bank charter, making it the eighth bank to receive such approval since 2010. A national charter would allow Augustus to offer direct dollar access to customers rather than routing transactions through intermediary banks. "We started Augustus with a simple thesis: the Dollar is the greatest product in the world but its distribution is fundamentally broken," said Ferdinand Dabitz, CEO and Co-Founder.                                "This financing lets us execute on our mission to provide high-quality dollar access to international fintechs and banks".

Cross-border trade is becoming instant and friction-free. Small merchants and mid-market enterprises are utilizing global virtual accounts and automated payment rails to clear international invoices and manage multi-currency supply lines in seconds. Augustus will continue to invest in Marble, its proprietary core banking platform, which enables faster settlement times and 24/7/365 availability by deploying AI across the bank's back office. The company will use the new funding to continue serving fintechs and banks in Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. July 2026 confirms that cross-border financial infrastructure is entering a new phase of scale and automation. Ant International's $1.2 billion round signals that global merchant payment networks remain a priority for institutional capital, while Augustus's $180 million Series B and OCC charter approval position it as a modern alternative to legacy correspondent banking. The era of slow, multi-day cross-border settlements is ending. The era of API-first, AI-powered, real-time dollar clearing is already here.