SoFi & Payward link banking with Kraken settlement

SoFi and Payward have formed a strategic partnership that links SoFi's banking network with Payward's digital asset operations. The agreement brings Payward into the SoFi Exchange Network and adds SoFiUSD to Kraken.

Under the arrangement, Payward will use SoFi's Big Business Banking services and connect to the SoFi Exchange Network, or SEN, for real-time US dollar settlement. SoFi will also use Kraken Prime, Payward's prime brokerage business, as an additional venue for digital asset trade execution.

The deal ties a chartered bank's payments infrastructure to one of the larger digital asset trading venues, as financial groups look for ways to move money outside traditional banking hours. SEN is designed to let institutional clients clear and settle US dollar transactions around the clock, rather than wait for standard bank cut-off times.

For Payward, that means continuous settlement for clients using Kraken. Kraken's institutional customers will be able to move US dollars and manage liquidity across both networks at any hour.

Banking link

SoFi launched Big Business Banking earlier this year as a combined offering for business banking and digital asset services. The partnership gives that push an early test with a large crypto market operator and extends SoFi's effort to build financial infrastructure for companies, rather than serving only retail users through its app.

Payward, which provides the underlying infrastructure for Kraken and other financial products, is using the tie-up to deepen its banking connections in the US dollar market. Its platform spans custody, settlement, trading, and related services across digital and other asset classes.

Another part of the agreement centres on SoFiUSD, SoFi's bank-issued stablecoin. Payward will list the token on Kraken, expanding availability to retail, professional, and institutional users of the exchange.

SoFi said SoFiUSD is redeemable one-to-one for US dollars. The listing broadens the token's distribution through an established exchange while linking it more closely to SoFi's own banking rails.

Liquidity source

Kraken Prime will also serve as an additional liquidity source for SoFi's existing crypto trading service. SoFi members already buy and sell crypto within the SoFi app, and the agreement adds Kraken Prime as another execution option for those transactions.

The companies said that should improve pricing on trades conducted through the app. They added that qualified custody services could be introduced as the relationship develops.

The move comes as more financial groups test how bank deposits, payment systems, and tokenised assets can work together in a market that increasingly operates continuously. While crypto trading has long run on a 24-hour basis, access to bank settlement has remained more limited, creating friction when firms need to move cash quickly.

That gap has helped drive demand for real-time payment rails, stablecoins, and bank-linked settlement networks. By combining a regulated bank platform with a digital asset exchange and brokerage business, SoFi and Payward are trying to address that mismatch directly.

Anthony Noto, Chief Executive Officer of SoFi, framed the partnership as part of a broader effort to modernise market plumbing.

"The financial system should not shut down when markets stay open. SoFi is building the trusted financial infrastructure for an always-on economy, combining the strength of a nationally chartered bank with technology that allows money to move seamlessly and efficiently. Our partnership with Payward is a powerful validation of that strategy and an important step toward a financial system where businesses can move money across networks and, over time, across borders without the delays and fragmentation of legacy infrastructure," said Anthony Noto, Chief Executive Officer of SoFi.

David Ripley, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Payward, said the arrangement reflects a broader shift in how financial services are being stitched together.

"Money and markets are converging into a new financial paradigm, and the infrastructure underneath has to catch up. Collaborating with SoFi lets us close that gap, and it works in both directions. Millions of people will buy their first cryptoasset inside the app they already use for their paycheck, and the infrastructure behind that experience should connect them to deep, liquid markets built to operate at scale," said David Ripley, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Payward.

SoFi says it has 15.8 million members using services spanning borrowing, saving, spending, investing, and crypto trading. The group also provides technology services to banks, fintechs, and brands that serve more than 134 million global accounts.

For Payward, the agreement places its exchange and brokerage operations closer to the core of dollar settlement flows, an area that has grown in importance as institutional investors push for faster collateral movement and simpler access between banking and crypto markets.

The partnership also creates a base for broader work across payments, treasury, lending, and digital assets. For now, its immediate effect is to connect SoFi's settlement network, Kraken's trading venue, and Kraken Prime's liquidity services in a single arrangement.