Security Engineer — Thunes Salary Negotiation Guide

Negotiation DNA: This guide decodes Thunes' Interoperability mandate, translating the Feb 2026 Swift Direct Global Network link into a security engineering compensation framework spanning Singapore, London, and New York markets.

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Compensation Benchmarks (2025-2026)

Region	Base Salary	Options (4yr)	Total Comp
:singapore: Singapore (SGD)	S$125,000 – S$180,000	S$60,000 – S$120,000	S$185,000 – S$300,000
:gb: London (GBP)	£75,000 – £115,000	£38,000 – £75,000	£113,000 – £190,000
:us: New York (USD)	$140,000 – $200,000	$70,000 – $140,000	$210,000 – $340,000

Negotiation DNA: Security Engineers at Thunes protect a financial network that processes real-time cross-border payments across 130+ countries, connecting 4B+ mobile wallets and serving partners like PayPal, Western Union, and Grab. The threat surface is extraordinary: Thunes must defend against fraud, data breaches, and compliance violations across regulatory jurisdictions spanning MAS (Singapore), the FCA (UK), FinCEN (US), and dozens of emerging market regulators simultaneously. Thunes is the critical interoperability layer between old-world SWIFT and new-world instant payments, and Security Engineers are what makes that bridge trustworthy. Every payment corridor has its own security profile — your work ensures the entire network remains secure.

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Level Mapping & Internal Benchmarking

Thunes Level	Equivalent at TerraPay	Equivalent at Nium	Equivalent at Wise
Security Engineer	Security Engineer	Security Engineer	Security Engineer
Senior Security Eng	Senior Security Eng	Senior / Lead	Senior Security Eng

Thunes Security Engineers cover a broader threat surface than peers at Wise or Nium due to the heterogeneity of payment methods and regulatory frameworks. A single Security Engineer may be responsible for PCI-DSS compliance, mobile money security standards, and SWIFT CSP simultaneously. This breadth commands premium compensation.

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:link: Thunes Interoperability & Standards-Bearer Lever

The Swift Direct Global Network link (Feb 2026) massively increases the security mandate. By connecting to Swift's infrastructure, Thunes must comply with SWIFT Customer Security Programme (CSP) — one of the most rigorous security frameworks in financial services — while simultaneously maintaining security across its modern API platform.

As a Standards-Bearer Security Engineer, you are the guardian of the legacy-to-real-time bridge's trustworthiness:

• Implementing SWIFT CSP compliance controls across the interoperability layer
• Designing security architectures that span both legacy SWIFT messaging and modern real-time APIs
• Building fraud detection systems that identify threats crossing protocol boundaries
• Maintaining compliance across the critical interoperability layer between old-world SWIFT and new-world instant payments

The interoperability mandate creates a unique security challenge: attack vectors that exploit the seam between legacy banking protocols and modern APIs. Threat actors specifically target protocol translation layers because the security models differ between systems. Your Standards-Bearer value is that you understand both security paradigms and can protect the bridge. Real-time settlement across 130+ countries and 4B+ mobile wallets depends on the security you architect.

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Global Levers

Lever 1: SWIFT CSP Compliance Expertise

"The Swift Direct Global Network link brings SWIFT Customer Security Programme compliance requirements — one of the most rigorous security frameworks in financial services. I bring direct experience with SWIFT CSP implementation and can ensure Thunes meets these requirements without disrupting existing operations. This specialized compliance expertise commands a premium."

Lever 2: Multi-Protocol Security Architecture

"Securing the interoperability layer between SWIFT and real-time payments requires understanding attack vectors across both paradigms. I bring dual-protocol security expertise — legacy banking security frameworks and modern API security — which is exactly what Thunes needs for the Feb 2026 integration."

Lever 3: Value Preservation Role

"A single security incident can destroy a payments company's partner relationships and valuation. The security team's work directly preserves enterprise value. My compensation should reflect the asymmetric impact of security — the downside of underinvestment far exceeds the cost of paying for top talent."

Lever 4: Regulatory Compliance Across Jurisdictions

"Operating across 130+ countries means navigating MAS, FCA, FinCEN, PIPL, and dozens of other regulatory security requirements simultaneously. I bring cross-jurisdictional compliance experience that reduces regulatory risk and accelerates market entry for new corridors."

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Negotiate Up Strategy: In Singapore, start at S$175,000 base with S$110,000 in options (4yr vesting) and accept no lower than S$140,000 base with S$70,000 in options. In London, start at £110,000 base with £70,000 in options and accept no lower than £85,000 base with £42,000 in options. In New York, start at $195,000 base with $130,000 in options and accept no lower than $155,000 base with $80,000 in options. Lead with the SWIFT CSP compliance angle and the value preservation argument — you are protecting a multi-billion-dollar payment network, and the cost of underinvestment in security dwarfs the cost of paying market rate.

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Evidence & Sources

• Thunes company profile, security requirements, and network data (thunes.com)
• Swift Direct Global Network link security and CSP compliance requirements (Feb 2026)
• Glassdoor and Levels.fyi Security Engineer compensation data for Singapore, London, NYC fintech (2025)
• Wise, Nium, and TerraPay security team compensation benchmarks
• SWIFT Customer Security Programme (CSP) mandatory control requirements
• MAS TRM, FCA operational resilience, and FinCEN security frameworks