Acquisition extends Payward’s globally regulated fullstack infrastructure into the cards and payments space
CHEYENNE, Wyo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Payward, a unified financial infrastructure platform advancing an open, global financial system, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Reap Technologies Holdings Limited (“Reap”), a leading stablecoin-native, card issuing and payments infrastructure company enabling global money movement.
The acquisition, which was first announced on May 7, 2026, expands Payward Services, the company’s B2B infrastructure platform, unlocking globally regulated infrastructure for card issuance and stablecoin payments.
"We are building the rails for an open, global financial system, where stablecoins are the settlement medium and tokenized assets are the native collateral underneath every transaction. With Reap, partners can issue cards, originate cross-border payments, and manage treasury against on-chain liquidity that settles in near real time, programmatically, through one API rather than a stack of correspondent banks and regional processors. Each new partner that builds on this compounds the network: more issuance, more corridors, more stablecoin velocity, and lower friction for everyone downstream. That is how an open financial system actually scales, not as a single product, but as shared infrastructure that anyone can extend," said Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken.
Payward Services brings core financial infrastructure together behind one integration, giving partners the tools to launch always-on products across crypto trading, custody, tokenized assets, on/off-ramps, derivatives, and now global cards and payments.
With Reap, that infrastructure now includes embedded card issuance, cross-border money movement, and stablecoin-based treasury management capabilities alongside access to Payward’s global liquidity, custody, and settlement infrastructure. Partners can access these services through Payward’s platform rather than assembling separate vendors or operating across fragmented infrastructure.
We're at an inflection point where fiat and crypto rails are merging into a single global payments layer, and that creates new and disruptive opportunities in cards and payments. Stablecoin settlement is becoming the default for how businesses move money across borders, and Reap was built from day one to be the infrastructure that makes that work. With Payward, we can bring that to more markets, more partners, and power the agentic payment flows that will define the next generation of embedded card issuance and financial operations," said Daren Guo, Co-Founder, Reap.
The acquisition positions the two businesses to extend stablecoin-powered payments infrastructure into high-growth markets, with Reap’s existing licenses accelerating Payward’s expansion across APAC and the Americas as Payward’s EU and US licenses open new corridors for Reap in Europe and the US.
Reap will continue to operate as a standalone brand within the Payward ecosystem, maintaining its brand, leadership team led by Daren Guo, and go-to-market approach while benefiting from Payward’s global infrastructure and regulatory footprint.
About Payward
Payward, Inc. is a unified financial infrastructure platform that powers a family of products advancing an open, global financial system. Built on a single shared architecture, Payward enables customers to hold, trade, earn, pay, and invest across asset classes without friction or fragmentation.
At its core, Payward provides the infrastructure layer behind Kraken and a growing set of purpose-built products, including NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Bitnomial, and CF Benchmarks.
Payward separates infrastructure from product expression. Each product surface is designed for a specific customer segment, regulatory regime, and use case, while operating on the same global foundation:
- One global liquidity pool
- One unified risk and margin engine
- One collateral and settlement system
- One compliance and licensing framework
This shared architecture allows Payward to scale efficiently, launch new products at low marginal cost, and serve diverse global markets while maintaining consistent risk management, regulatory integrity, and operational resilience.
For more information about Payward, please visit www.payward.com.
About Reap
Reap is a global financial technology company that enables financial connectivity and access for businesses worldwide through stablecoin-native infrastructure. Reap transforms the financial landscape through more efficient money movement by merging traditional finance with digital assets, bridging disparate economies and connecting key financial markets.
Reap was an early leader in Asia to incorporate stablecoins into its solutions. In 2025, Reap processed billions in stablecoin-funded transaction flows. From stablecoin-enabled corporate cards to cross-border payments, Reap streamlines financial operations and empowers companies to scale with its integrated business accounts and embedded finance solutions.
Founded and headquartered in Hong Kong, Reap employs 300 people worldwide.
More information about Reap can be found at reap.global.
Advisors
PJT Partners served as financial advisor and Jones Day served as legal advisor to Payward. CRB Securities and Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. served as financial advisors and Latham & Watkins served as legal advisors to Reap.
Contacts
Payward
Lauren Post
press@kraken.com
Reap
Sue Ann Sim
communications@reap.global
