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Singapore Gulf Bank said on Oct. 12 that it had adopted BNY’s 24/7 USD Book Transfers service, a move that lets eligible corporate and retail clients settle qualifying dollar payments outside traditional US banking hours, including weekends and US public holidays. The bank described itself as one of the first financial institutions globally to use the solution, according to Crypto.news.
Settlement depends on the participating bank and account meeting the network’s requirements, and transfers run between accounts held directly at BNY or at correspondent banks enrolled in the service. Thenewscrypto reported that the expansion builds on a relationship that began in April 2026, when SGB joined BNY’s correspondent banking network to strengthen its dollar clearing capabilities.
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Key facts
- SGB announced the adoption on Oct. 12, saying qualifying dollar transfers can settle at any hour between eligible accounts held directly at BNY or through enrolled correspondent banks.
- The bank began corporate banking services in late 2024 and introduced SGB Net in May 2025 for real-time settlement across multiple currencies.
- Long before this arrangement, an April 7 announcement said SGB had joined BNY’s correspondent banking network to strengthen dollar clearing and add another payment provider.
- Separately, Payward connected to SGB Net on Oct. 5 so selected institutional customers across supported Asian and Gulf jurisdictions could settle instantly, starting with US dollars.
- Thenewscrypto reported that BNY oversaw $62.6 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $2.2 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026 — figures that do not appear in Crypto.news’s account.
What changes for clients
SGB named account funding, supplier payments and time-sensitive cross-border treasury transactions among the supported corporate uses, and extended the offering to eligible retail customers as well. Executive Vice Chairman Ali Moosa framed the need in terms of clients whose operations span markets with different working hours, saying their business needs do not always fall inside traditional US banking hours.
From BNY’s side, EMEA head of global payments and trade Bana Akkad Azhari said continuous dollar settlement would help institutions manage available cash and meet urgent payment obligations. Thenewscrypto reported a slightly fuller version of that framing, describing greater agility in managing liquidity and meeting urgent financial commitments; the substance of the two accounts matches, though the second outlet attributes the remark as a statement rather than a paraphrase.
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The wider SGB build-out
The BNY expansion followed Payward’s 24/7 institutional settlement partnership with SGB, announced on Oct. 5 and reported by Crypto.news a week before the latest announcement. Under that arrangement, Kraken parent Payward connected to SGB Net so selected institutional customers could settle transactions instantly, with the parties saying funds deposited with Payward’s platform become available for trading immediately, including outside normal banking hours. The initial service covers US dollars, with additional currencies and customers planned for later stages.
SGB also said it would add Kraken Prime as a source of digital asset liquidity and would use Payward’s markets when setting trade prices for customers over the following months. Payward put SGB Net’s monthly fiat transaction volume above $20 billion and said the network serves digital asset businesses with growing payment and settlement needs. Payward Chief Commercial Officer Mark Greenberg attributed that demand to exchanges, payment providers, over-the-counter trading desks and fintech firms operating continuously while banks maintain fixed settlement cutoffs.
Despite its name, SGB operates under a banking license from the Central Bank of Bahrain. The bank identifies Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Singapore investment group Whampoa Group as its backers.
Why it matters
Dollar clearing has long run on US banking hours, which leaves treasury teams in the Gulf and Asia waiting over weekends and holidays. Removing that constraint changes settlement risk and cash management for any client that funds accounts or pays suppliers across time zones, and it puts SGB in the same conversation as much larger institutions building always-on payment infrastructure.
BNY’s own work in this area extends beyond payments: Crypto.news reported that it announced institutional staking plans with Galaxy on Aug. 4 and a blockchain-based fund ownership recordkeeping platform in July, with the latter business covering roughly $8.6 trillion in supported assets across 7.6 million investor accounts. A separate Oct. 2 report described BNY and Payward’s potential crypto services partnership as covering six areas — crypto products, custody, wealth management, trading, payments and financial infrastructure — with negotiations ongoing and no assurance that an agreement would follow.
What to watch
The practical test is how many correspondent banks enroll in BNY’s 24/7 network and which SGB clients qualify, since access hinges on the participating bank and account meeting network requirements. SGB has also said Payward’s additional currencies and customer groups are planned for later stages, and BNY’s Payward talks remain unresolved.
Nothing here is financial advice, and crypto and payment markets are volatile and uncertain.
Sources: crypto.news, Thenewscrypto
