Payward, Kraken’s parent company, has linked its services to Singapore Gulf Bank’s SGB Net, enabling a limited group of institutional clients to settle qualifying U.S. dollar transactions around the clock. The service connects banking rails with crypto trading, but access is restricted. Key details, including supported cryptocurrencies and expected trading volumes, have not been disclosed.
- Access is limited to institutions in supported Asian and Gulf jurisdictions, which have not been named.
- U.S. dollars are the only confirmed settlement currency at launch.
- SGB plans to use Kraken Prime as an additional source of digital-asset liquidity.
- The companies have not set a timetable for adding clients or currencies.
What the Payward-SGB connection offers
The integration connects Payward to SGB Net, Singapore Gulf Bank’s real-time, multi-currency clearing network. Eligible SGB clients can deposit funds with Payward and use them for trading, including on weekends. At launch, the service is limited to U.S. dollars and a select group of institutional customers in jurisdictions the companies have not identified.
Here, “24/7 settlement” means eligible transactions can settle outside conventional banking hours. It does not mean every payment is instant, that every customer can use the service or that retail clients have access. The companies have not explained how quickly funds become available in each case.
Payward Chief Commercial Officer Mark Greenberg described the mismatch between banking hours and digital-asset markets:
“settlement stops when the business day does.”
Round-the-clock settlement could help institutions move funds in step with markets that operate beyond ordinary banking hours. In practice, the service’s reach will depend on which clients and jurisdictions qualify and how individual transactions are handled.
Kraken Prime adds a liquidity connection
SGB also plans to use Kraken Prime, Payward’s institutional digital-asset service, as an additional source of liquidity when pricing trades for customers. The companies expect this arrangement to develop over the coming months.
Liquidity refers to the availability of buyers, sellers or trading venues that can help execute an order. Kraken Prime offers SGB another potential source, but the companies have not said how much trading activity they expect to route through it.
They have not named the cryptocurrencies supported through this arrangement. SGB separately offers stablecoin services involving USDC and USDT on networks including Ethereum, Solana and Arbitrum. It has also added direct stablecoin minting and redemption for selected corporate and high-net-worth clients. Those services are separate and do not establish which assets are available through the Payward-SGB connection.
SGB CEO Shawn Chan said “clients can move funds when they need to.” That applies to eligible clients using this service, not every SGB customer.
Reported network volumes need context
Payward’s announcement said SGB Net processes more than $20 billion in fiat transactions each month. The figure came from the companies, and the available information does not show that it was independently audited.
An SGB update in February 2026 cited more than $2 billion in monthly fiat transaction volume. The companies have not explained the substantial difference or clarified whether the figures use the same scope and methodology. Neither figure should be treated as a forecast of activity through the new Payward connection.
SGB launched SGB Net in May 2025, after receiving its banking license and beginning corporate services in late 2024. Despite “Singapore” in its name, Singapore Gulf Bank is a conventional wholesale bank licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain. Its backers include Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, and Singapore-based Whampoa Group.
Key questions about the settlement launch
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Who can use the service at launch?
A limited group of institutional clients in supported Asian and Gulf jurisdictions. The companies have not named the jurisdictions or participating institutions.
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Which currency is supported initially?
U.S. dollars. The companies expect to add currencies and clients but have not set a timetable.
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Does 24/7 settlement mean every transfer is instant?
No. The service is designed to support settlement outside normal banking hours, including weekends, but the companies have not promised instant processing in every case.
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What role does Kraken Prime play?
It is planned as an additional liquidity source for SGB when pricing digital-asset trades. Expected volumes and supported cryptocurrencies for this arrangement have not been disclosed.
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How should SGB Net’s reported monthly volume be interpreted?
Payward cited more than $20 billion in monthly fiat transactions, while an SGB update in February 2026 cited more than $2 billion in monthly fiat transaction volume. The companies have not explained the difference or shown that the figures are directly comparable.
Always-on settlement addresses a real mismatch between digital-asset trading and banking schedules. But this launch is still a limited institutional service, not universal access to round-the-clock money movement. Its scale will become clearer when the companies disclose eligible jurisdictions, supported assets and actual activity through the connection.
