Singapore Gulf Bank has entered into a strategic banking partnership with Standard Chartered to enhance cross-border and multi-currency payment services across emerging digital asset markets.
According to a release shared with crypto.news on Tuesday, the agreement will expand the bank’s correspondent banking network and improve payment routing in regions where digital asset activity is growing rapidly, particularly in the Middle East and across Asia. Customers operating in these corridors can expect faster settlements and reduced transaction friction through Standard Chartered’s clearing infrastructure.
Speaking about the partnership, Singapore Gulf Bank CEO Sean Chan said businesses in emerging markets continue to face delays due to a multi-tiered intermediary banking system. Mr Chan said the collaboration with Standard Chartered will help remove these bottlenecks while supporting the infrastructure tied to the digital asset economy.
Within the agreement, Standard Chartered will provide correspondent banking and clearing support across its global network. Karine Zakua, Head of Banks, Brokers and Dealers at Standard Chartered MENA, said payments activity across the high-growth corridor continues to accelerate while financial infrastructure is able to respond to payments demand in real-time.
Singapore Gulf Bank operates under a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain and has expanded its services related to stablecoins and digital assets over the past two years. The bank rolled out its 24/7 payments functionality late last year after introducing SGB Net, a proprietary real-time multi-currency payments platform for digital asset companies.
Earlier this year, Singapore Gulf Bank introduced a regulated platform that allows institutions to mint, convert, trade and hold stablecoins such as USDC and USDT on networks such as Ethereum, Solana and Arbitrum. At the time, the bank said SGB Net already processes more than $2 billion in fiat transaction volume per month.
Back in November 2025, the Bank partnered with Fireblocks, a digital asset infrastructure provider, to support its custody and treasury management operations. Singapore Gulf Bank said at the time that the integration would help automate treasury functions and reduce operational risks associated with handling digital assets.
Further momentum around regulated stablecoin infrastructure has also emerged across Asia in recent months. In Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted the first stablecoin issuance license in April to Anchorpoint Financial, a venture backed by HSBC, Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecom.
Hong Kong’s licensing framework requires approved issuers to maintain reserve backing, redemption guarantees, governance controls and anti-money laundering compliance standards. The regime came into effect in August 2025 as regional regulators moved to establish formal oversight over stablecoin issuance and payment services.
