SoFi Pushes SoFiUSD Onto Kraken in Payward Partnership

SoFi Technologies Inc. announced a strategic partnership with Payward, the infrastructure company behind the Kraken exchange, covering banking, payments, liquidity and digital asset markets. Payward will use SoFi's Big Business Banking capabilities, join the SoFi Exchange Network and list SoFiUSD on Kraken. SoFi shares were up 2.16% intraday.The arrangement runs both ways. Joining the settlement network lets Kraken's institutional clients clear and settle dollar transactions around the clock, past the limits of traditional banking hours. In the other direction, SoFi will use Kraken Prime, Payward's prime brokerage, as an additional source of digital asset liquidity, with qualified custody available as the relationship expands. SoFi said the arrangement will improve pricing for members already trading crypto in its app. "The financial system should not shut down when markets stay open," said CEO Anthony Noto.SoFiUSD is redeemable one-to-one for dollars and issued by a nationally chartered bank, and a Kraken listing puts it in front of retail, professional and institutional users well beyond SoFi's 15.8 million members. SoFi launched Big Business Banking in April, and the companies said they may extend the relationship into payments, treasury and lending over time. No financial terms were disclosed.