Payward and Singapore Gulf Bank Team Up for 24/7 Crypto Settlements

Payward, the company behind the popular crypto exchange Kraken, has taken a step to bridge the gap between the 24/7 crypto markets and traditional banking hours. On October 4, 2026, Payward announced a partnership with Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) to offer round-the-clock settlement services for digital assets. This collaboration aims to provide institutional clients in Asia and the Gulf region with instant settlement capabilities, aligning the speed of crypto trading with the slower pace of traditional banking.

The partnership integrates SGB Net, the bank’s real-time multi-currency clearing network, into Payward’s infrastructure. Initially, the service will focus on USD transactions and a select group of clients, with plans to expand to more currencies and clients over time. Liquidity for these transactions will be managed through Kraken Prime, Payward’s institutional prime brokerage arm.

SGB Net, which went live in May 2025, has already processed over $2 billion in fiat transaction volume monthly. The bank itself is a fully licensed digital bank regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain and launched its corporate banking services in late 2024. The new service is designed to reduce operational friction and enable institutional clients to deploy funds more quickly, addressing the mismatch between the continuous trading of digital assets and the limited operating hours of traditional banks.

This partnership follows a similar collaboration between Payward and SoFi in September 2026, which focused on real-time USD settlement using the SoFi Exchange Network. The deal with SGB targets a different geographic area but follows the same strategy of enhancing settlement efficiency for institutional clients. The most immediate beneficiaries will be institutional players in Asia and the Gulf, who could gain the ability to fund positions or withdraw capital at any time, without waiting for traditional banking hours.