Lim Nanli – known to most of his friends as Nanz – is quietly transforming cross-border payments, while mentoring the next generation to continue that evolution.
Forget the frantic energy of Wall Street trading floors and the sky-high valuations of Silicon Valley unicorns. The real revolution in global finance is quieter, more complex, and often hidden from view. It lives in the invisible “plumbing” that connects global and emerging economies – the payments infrastructure that allows businesses to send money across borders as easily as sending a WhatsApp message, in real-time.
This is the world of Nanz, Head of Product at Thunes, a Singapore-based B2B payments company rewiring how money moves internationally.
“What excites me most is connecting the dots – working across engineering, sales, treasury, and compliance to solve deep infrastructure problems at scale,” says the SMU Master of IT in Business graduate.
“Every decision stems from the question: will this still work when we grow from 10 to 100 markets, or from thousands to millions of transactions daily?”
A nonlinear path, powered by purpose
Like compounding interest, Nanz’s fascination with fintech grew steadily during his associate programme at Standard Chartered. Meeting clients face-to-face, he saw how difficult it was for people to plan their futures when they were blocked by restrictive fees, forms, and outdated systems.
“It struck me how much traditional financial services still left people behind – and how technology could close that gap.”
That belief shaped his move as Vice President, Singapore Digital Banking at DBS, where he helped drive the bank’s mobile-first strategy. What began as an abstract mission – “access” – became tangible.
“I saw first-hand how the products I built could change lives. That’s when I knew Product was where I belonged.”
At DBS, he sharpened his conviction that digital channels could deliver more than efficiency – they could create meaningful, personal experiences at scale.
That conviction eventually drew him to Thunes, shortly after its Series A funding round, lured by the challenge of building something from the ground up.
“What stood out was its clarity of purpose: to make cross-border payments faster, more affordable, and more inclusive – especially in markets where remittances are lifelines.”
Today, Nanz leads his Products team, designing the systems that onboard partners, screen for compliance, process payments, and provide transparent reporting.
“It’s not flashy,” he admits. “But it’s the plumbing that keeps everything flowing.”
His work also extends to improving internal tools – dashboards, onboarding flows, internal APIs – because for him, customer experience includes the people behind the scenes.
SMU: the foundation underlying the system
SMU has been a constant touchpoint in Nanz’s journey. As a Bachelor of Business Management (Finance) undergraduate, he gained not just critical thinking and finance knowledge, but also the empathy, collaboration, and communication skills to bridge business and technology.
Outside the classroom, he led eco-camps and served as a Peer Helper, mentoring fellow students.
Years later, he returned for a Master of IT in Business – a pivotal career move.
“I wanted to better understand the language of tech so I could collaborate more effectively with developers and bridge the gap between management and execution.”
The programme sharpened his ability to translate complexity into strategy and action – a skill that anchors his product leadership style today: clear, intentional, and systems-minded.
One professor left a lasting impression – Principal Lecturer of Computer Science Lee Yeow Leong, who taught him as an undergraduate.
“I had zero coding experience and felt totally out of place, but his patient encouragement helped me push through. That early exposure gave me the confidence to work with engineers and solve problems with tech – a gift I’ve used countless times since.”
The cross-border fintech world is anything but simple – it’s shaped by shifting regulations, geopolitical tensions, and volatile currency markets.
“Uncertainty is constant,” says Nanz. “Thunes helps our members by distilling that complexity into something manageable.”
Here again, lessons from SMU resurface. Courses on IT risk and compliance taught him not just how systems work, but how they fail – and how to design the monitoring and recovery processes to keep them running.
That mindset informs how he builds roadmaps, assesses risk, and plans for the long term. And as AI reshapes the industry, he is deliberate about its application:
“It’s not just about building models. It’s about applying them meaningfully. You need technical fluency to work with data teams and challenge assumptions – but just as important is empathy, understanding customer needs, and making human-centred decisions. The best leaders in fintech aren’t necessarily the most technical; they’re the ones who are curious, thoughtful, and ask the right questions.”
Nanz now mentors SMU students on real-world SMU-X projects – from digital literacy for seniors to social reintegration for former drug offenders – even offering Thunes as a capstone project topic.
“I’m consistently impressed by their creativity and drive. They bring fresh ideas, ask tough questions, and care deeply about making an impact – which makes working with them so rewarding.”
His advice to young professionals is simple:
“Get your hands dirty. Intern. Shadow. Help a friend build something. Get close to real problems. Don’t worry if your path isn’t linear – mine wasn’t. Every role added something valuable.”
Closing the loop
From his first banking role to leading product at a global payments scale-up, Nanz’s career has been guided by a single thread: using technology to bring people closer to opportunity.
The financial bridges he builds may be invisible, but their impact is not – enabling small businesses to expand into new markets, migrant workers to send money home faster, and economies to connect more seamlessly.
And through mentoring, he’s ensuring that the next generation of leaders will continue that work, carrying forward the same purpose that’s powered his journey: to make access the default, not the exception.
As Head of Products at Thunes, Nanz draws daily on the lessons of SMU:
- Building a collaborative spirit – Seminar-style classes and group projects trained him to exchange ideas confidently, listen actively, and lead with empathy.
- Working across cultures – With Thunes operating in more than a dozen countries, success depends on the ability to navigate different perspectives, communication styles, and ways of working. SMU’s diverse, multicultural environment – from classroom discussions to overseas projects – helped Nanz become adept at building trust and alignment across borders.
- Exposure beyond the classroom – Community service and global experiences deepened his belief that even simple tech can change lives – like his Red Cross trip to Vietnam to set up a school computer lab.
