Payward partners with Singapore Gulf Bank for 24/7 settlement services

Crypto markets never close. Banks, famously, still do. Payward, the parent company of Kraken, wants to shrink that gap. On October 4, 2026, it announced a partnership with Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) to offer 24/7 instant settlement for digital assets to institutional clients in Asia and the Gulf region. The deal integrates SGB Net, the bank’s real-time multi-currency clearing network, into Payward’s infrastructure. For institutions, that could mean money moves when the market moves, not when a back office opens on Monday morning. How the Payward and SGB deal works SGB Net is a clearing network that settles fiat transactions in real time across multiple currencies. Payward is connecting to that network. The service will start with USD transactions and a select group of clients rather than opening to everyone at once. The companies plan to bring on more clients and more currencies over time. Liquidity for the setup will run through Kraken Prime, Payward’s institutional prime brokerage arm. SGB itself is a fully licensed digital bank regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain. It launched its corporate banking services in late 2024. SGB Net went live in May 2025. The network has reported...