Sydney, Australia – Payward, the financial infrastructure platform behind Kraken, has partnered with Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) to enable round-the-clock settlement for institutional digital asset transactions in selected jurisdictions.
Under the partnership, Payward has integrated SGB Net, SGB’s real-time, multi-currency clearing network, allowing both companies’ institutional clients to settle transactions instantly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The service initially supports US dollar transactions for a select group of clients, with plans to expand access and add more currencies over time.
The companies said the integration addresses a gap between traditional banking settlement schedules and digital asset markets, which operate continuously.
Through SGB Net, SGB clients can deposit funds with Payward and make them available for use instantly. SGB will also onboard Kraken Prime, Payward’s full-service prime brokerage service, as an additional source of digital asset liquidity.
Over the coming months, SGB said it will use Payward’s markets to price digital asset trades for its customers.
SGB launched SGB Net in 2025 to meet the growing operational needs of digital asset businesses. The network now processes more than US$20 billion in fiat transactions each month, according to the company.
SGB is backed by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Singapore-based Whampoa Group. It provides digital onboarding for corporate clients across markets.
“Exchanges, payment providers, OTC desks and fintechs all run into the same banking constraint. Settlement stops when the business day does, while their markets do not,” said Mark Greenberg, Chief Commercial Officer of Payward.
“SGB has built settlement infrastructure that reflects the future of digital asset banking and payments. Every regulated bank we connect with this way brings us closer to a world where settlement and cross-border payments happen in real time, wherever our clients are,” Greenberg continued.
“Access to liquidity is only useful if clients can move funds when they need to,” said Shawn Chan, Chief Executive Officer of SGB.
“By connecting SGB Net with Payward and partnering with Kraken Prime, we are bringing settlement and liquidity closer together, giving clients more flexibility in how they fund and manage their digital asset activity,” Chan continued.
SGB provides corporate and personal banking accounts, alongside multi-currency accounts, international payments and remote account opening. Its services also include access to digital asset-related offerings.
The partnership forms part of Payward’s efforts to expand Payward Banking, which provides the financial infrastructure supporting deposits, payments, cards, custody and lending across its platform.
Payward said it plans to continue adding regulated banking partners as digital asset markets and traditional financial services increasingly converge, with the aim of expanding banking services and faster cash movement across markets.
