Payward, the parent company behind Kraken, has struck a deal with Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) to give institutional clients access to round-the-clock settlement services, eliminating one of the most persistent friction points in crypto markets: banking hours.

What the Partnership Does

Payward has integrated SGB Net, SGB's real-time multi-currency clearing network, allowing institutional clients of both firms to settle transactions instantly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The settlement offering initially starts with US dollar transactions for a select number of clients, with plans to expand to more clients and additional currencies over time.

The integration allows institutional clients in Asia and the Gulf region to settle instantly at any hour. The move directly addresses a structural gap in financial markets: crypto trades around the clock, but traditional settlement infrastructure does not. As Payward's Chief Commercial Officer Mark Greenberg noted, "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."

SGB is also partnering with Kraken Prime, Payward's full-service prime brokerage solution, to access liquidity for its digital asset offerings. SGB plans to use Payward's markets when pricing trades for its own customers over the coming months.

SGB Net's Scale and Background

SGB launched SGB Net in 2025 for digital asset businesses with growing operational needs, and the network has since scaled to process more than $20 billion in fiat transactions each month. SGB is backed by Mumtalakat, Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, and by Singapore's Whampoa Group, and it onboards corporate clients digitally across markets. SGB is a fully licensed digital bank regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.

The Payward deal is the latest in a string of institutional moves by SGB. Earlier in 2026, Singapore Gulf Bank introduced a regulated platform allowing institutions to mint, convert, trade, and hold stablecoins such as USDC and USDT across networks including Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum. The bank has also partnered with Standard Chartered to improve cross-border settlement and correspondent banking services across the Middle East and Asia.

For Kraken and its institutional clients, the deal represents a meaningful upgrade to the operational plumbing that underpins large-scale digital asset trading, with broader currency and client coverage expected to follow.

Sources:
Payward and Singapore Gulf Bank official press release via Manila Times
Kraken parent Payward and SGB launch 24/7 settlement for institutions, Crypto News
Payward partners with Singapore Gulf Bank for 24/7 settlement services, Crypto Briefing