SoFi Technologies Teams Up With Payward: Will SoFiUSD Gain Traction?

SoFi Technologies SOFI has partnered with Payward, the parent company behind Kraken, to connect banking with digital-asset markets. Payward will use SoFi’s Big Business Banking capabilities, join the SoFi Exchange Network (“SEN”) and list the SoFiUSD stablecoin on Kraken. SoFi will also use Kraken Prime as a source of digital-asset liquidity.The tie-up gives Payward and Kraken’s institutional clients access to SEN for 24/7 U.S. dollar clearing, settlement and liquidity management. SoFiUSD, which is redeemable one-for-one for U.S. dollars, will gain broader distribution through Kraken, while Kraken Prime is expected to support better pricing for SoFi members’ crypto trades. Qualified custody capabilities are also expected to become available as the relationship develops.The agreement builds on SoFi’s push into blockchain-based services. In the fourth quarter of 2025, SoFi launched consumer crypto trading, SoFi Pay and SoFiUSD. SoFi Pay allows members to send money across more than 30 countries, while SoFiUSD is backed by cash held at the Federal Reserve.That infrastructure expanded further in 2026. SoFi’s Big Business Banking began processing transactions on SEN, allowing commercial clients to move money in real time, 24/7. The company said roughly $300 million of SoFiUSD was in circulation in the second quarter of 2026, while its crypto trading business had begun settling transactions in SoFiUSD.Adoption provides further support. As of June 30, 2026, SoFi reported 388,336 crypto products after returning to crypto investing in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the second quarter of 2026, net crypto transaction revenues reached $1.18 million, while total Financial Services products rose 43% year over year to 21.3 million.How Are Competitors Faring?JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM is increasingly linking traditional banking with tokenized markets. In May 2026, its Kinexys platform joined Ripple, Mastercard and Ondo Finance in a cross-border tokenized Treasury redemption, connecting blockchain-based asset redemption with bank settlement outside normal banking hours. JPM is also expanding tokenized deposits and money-market infrastructure.Western Union WU is expanding stablecoin-based financial infrastructure. In May 2026, it launched USDPT, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank on Solana and followed up with a Bybit integration in June and a Rain partnership in August. Its USDPT-backed Stablecard launched across 37 markets, supporting wallet, transfer and Visa spending functions.SOFI’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of SOFI have gained 15.4% in the past three months, outperforming the broader industry while underperforming the S&P 500 Index.From a valuation standpoint, SOFI trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81X, well above the industry’s 17.06X. It carries a Value Score of F.SOFI’s estimate revisions reflect a favorable trend for full-year 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2026 EPS gained a cent to 60 cents over the past two months.SOFI stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportSoFi Technologies, Inc. (SOFI): Free Stock Analysis ReportJPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThe Western Union Company (WU): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment Research