Kraken Parent Payward Partners With Singapore Gulf Bank for 24/7 Institutional Settlement

Payward, the parent company of global cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has partnered with Singapore Gulf Bank to provide 24/7 real-time settlement services for institutional investors in Asia and the Gulf region.

Wu Blockchain reported on October 5 that Payward and Singapore Gulf Bank, or SGB, had entered into a strategic partnership on institutional payments and digital-asset liquidity. SGB is a fully licensed digital bank regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.

Under the partnership, Payward has integrated SGB Net, SGB’s real-time multicurrency clearing network, into its system. The move will allow institutional clients in some countries across Asia and the Gulf region to access instant settlement around the clock.

The service will initially support U.S. dollar transactions for a select group of institutional clients. The two companies plan to gradually expand both the client base and the currencies supported.

SGB will also connect to Kraken Prime, Payward’s service for institutional investors. That will give SGB access to digital-asset liquidity and allow it to use Kraken’s infrastructure for functions including trade pricing for its clients.

The companies plan to use the partnership to connect traditional finance’s multicurrency settlement network with digital-asset trading infrastructure, while improving institutional clients’ access to fund settlement and digital-asset trading.