Tensec
Founded 2023 · 42 employees on LinkedIn · 8 known investors
Tensec provides secure global payment and banking services by partnering with established financial institutions worldwide. Its AI-driven platform, built on AWS infrastructure, handles cross-border payments and automates compliance controls aligned with NIST SP 800-53 standards.
Also known as Tensec US, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Tensec was founded in 2023 by Sandrine Cousquer-Okasmaa.
Investors · 8
Also in the syndicate · 3
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$12M disclosed across 1 of 2 rounds · 2025
- Undisclosed amountSeed FundingJun 2025Source ↗
- $12MSeedJun 2025 · 4 sources
Costanoa Ventures (lead), Cambrian VC, Endeavor Scale Up Ventures, Ignia Partners, Montage Ventures, Quiet Capital, Renegade Partners, WillowTree Investments
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Tensec builds cross-border financial infrastructure for businesses engaged in international trade. Its platform consolidates foreign exchange, cross-border payments and transaction banking services into a single interface that requires no API work or coding, so client companies can begin offering these services through a simple login. Core capabilities include multi-currency transactions, real-time payments routed over networks such as SPEI, PIX, FedNow and SEPA, embedded FX hedging, treasury tools, trade finance features and a dashboard for client activity and revenue management.
Compliance and onboarding are handled by an AI layer that performs KYB/KYC verification, document checks and risk assessment with real-time regulatory updates, reducing verification cycles the company describes as taking weeks down to minutes. Tensec states it works only with licensed financial institutions and complies with FinCEN and other global regulatory standards; banking services in the United States are provided by Stearns Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, and Tensec is not itself a bank. The company reports coverage across 150+ countries, 70+ currencies and 100+ real-time payment markets.
The company operates a "Powered by Tensec" model in which its AI engine handles the technical, operational and compliance requirements on behalf of the trading companies and FX service providers that distribute the services to their own clients.
Founding story
Tensec was founded by Helcio Nobre (CEO), Sandrine Okasmaa (COO) and Yang Wang (VP of Engineering). The founding team is described as veterans of PayPal, Meta, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Mastercard, Rapyd and Credit Karma; Okasmaa previously led compliance at Bond and held senior legal roles at Goldman Sachs, Mastercard and American Express, and Wang was formerly Head of Product Engineering at Bond.
Business model
Tensec sells to global trade companies, FX service providers and similar intermediaries, which in turn deliver cross-border payments, FX, treasury and banking services to their own SMB clients under a "Powered by Tensec" arrangement. Tensec supplies the platform, AI-driven compliance and operational processing, while regulated banking in the U.S. is provided by partner Stearns Bank, N.A.
The company positions the platform as a way for partner businesses to unlock new revenue streams from FX margins and payment services; sources describe revenue management tools, real-time exchange rates rather than fixed rates, and embedded FX hedging as monetization levers for its customers.
Traction
At its June 2025 seed announcement, Tensec said it was working with customers facilitating $10 billion in annual trade volume, projecting growth to $30 billion following planned expansion into APAC and EU markets. In October 2025 it described scaling its own annual trade volume from $500 million toward $5 billion using a new credit facility. Platform coverage is stated at 150+ countries, 70+ currencies and 100+ real-time payment markets.
Latest developments
On 21 October 2025 Tensec announced a $60 million credit facility from Upper90 Capital Management to scale annual trade volume from $500 million to $5 billion and to onboard more than 100 new trading partners over the following 18 months.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Tensec targets B2B/SMB cross-border payments, a segment it describes as still dependent on decades-old SWIFT infrastructure and largely bypassed by fintech innovation despite SMBs accounting for over 40% of the roughly $25 trillion in annual physical goods trade. The company frames its approach as merging logistics and fintech infrastructure, and cites projections of cross-border payment volumes growing from $194.6 trillion in 2024 to $250 trillion by 2030 and $320 trillion by 2032.
Tensec emphasizes a no-API, no-integration deployment model, AI-automated compliance and onboarding that compresses verification from weeks to minutes, unified FX, payments and banking in one interface, real-time settlement in place of multi-day waits, and real-time rather than fixed exchange rates.
Technology
A zero-integration, no-code platform combining multi-rail payment infrastructure (SPEI, PIX, FedNow, SEPA and other real-time rails), multi-currency accounts and embedded FX hedging with an AI engine that automates KYB/KYC onboarding, document checks, risk assessment and compliance monitoring with real-time regulatory updates.
Go-to-market
Tensec distributes through global trading companies and FX service providers that embed its financial services for their client bases, emphasizing setup without engineering integration. It is hiring sales, go-to-market and operations staff in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil, and stated an aim to add more than 100 new trading partners in the 18 months following its October 2025 credit facility.
International trade and import/export companies, trade compliance consultants, global investment firms, FX brokers, and — indirectly — the small and medium-sized businesses that these intermediaries serve in cross-border trade.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco per company announcements, with press releases datelined Palo Alto, California, and additional offices in New York, Mexico City and São Paulo; job listings also reference Monterrey, Mexico, and Palo Alto. Planned service expansion into APAC and EU markets was announced in June 2025.
History
The company was founded in 2023. In June 2025 it announced a $12 million seed round led by Costanoa Ventures to build out its platform, and in October 2025 it announced a $60 million credit facility from Upper90 Capital Management to expand transaction capacity tenfold.
Risks & controversies
Tensec is not a bank and depends on partner licensed financial institutions, notably Stearns Bank, N.A., for U.S. banking services. The company notes that transaction processing times can range from minutes to several days depending on payment method and market.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsTensec announced a $60 million credit facility with Upper90 Capital Management to expand annual trade volume from $500 million to $5 billion and add more than 100 new trading partners over 18 months.
$60M source ↗
Tensec announced $12 million in seed funding led by Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Quiet Capital, WillowTree Investments, Cambrian VC, Ignia Partners, Montage Ventures, Renegade Partners and Endeavor Scale Up Ventures, to expand real-time cross-border payments and transaction banking for global trading companies.
$12M source ↗
Banking services in the United States for Tensec customers are provided by Stearns Bank, N.A., Member FDIC; Tensec is not a bank.
Tensec stated it expects annual trade volume facilitated by its customers to grow from $10 billion to $30 billion following an upcoming service expansion into APAC and the EU.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Tensectensec.io · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Tensec do?
- Tensec is a B2B fintech offering a zero-integration platform for cross-border payments, FX and transaction banking for trading companies.
- Who founded Tensec?
- Tensec was founded by Sandrine Cousquer-Okasmaa in 2023.
- Who are Tensec's investors?
- Tensec's investors include Costanoa Ventures, IGNIA, Upper90, Montage Ventures, Quiet Capital.
- How much funding has Tensec raised?
- Tensec has disclosed $12M raised across 1 of its 2 known rounds.