ClearBank has expanded its partnership with Kraken for UK and EU digital asset clearing.
The partnership will provide Kraken’s UK-based clients with sterling clearing services, enabling friction-free, real-time on and off ramps into the digital exchange ecosystem.
The partnership will use ClearBank’s cloud-based technology and give access to banking infrastructure. Services are set to go live in the coming months, with EU banking services expected to follow later in the year.
“We now work with some of the largest companies and exchanges in the market and with Kraken, we are pleased to further grow our presence in the rapidly expanding world of digital assets,” said John Salter, chief customer officer, ClearBank.
One of the main challenges facing widespread adoption of digital assets has been the ability to build and maintain reliable, instant fiat payments rails.
As ClearBank is a direct member of the Faster Payments Service (FPS) and its virtual International Bank Account Numbers (vIBANs) offering, it can provide Kraken’s retail and institutional clients seamless on and off ramping, as well as the additional security due to its deposits being held at the Bank of England.
Kraken has recently been granted a UK Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence for its legal entity, Payward Services Ltd. As its primary UK bank, ClearBank will be supporting it as it scales up its UK license.
“To unleash the potential of cryptocurrency and drive mainstream adoption, the underlying banking infrastructure must be robust. This is why we have partnered with ClearBank, whose battle-tested, cloud-based API technology and commitment to innovation matches Kraken’s vision of growing crypto adoption and financial freedom,” added Kaushik Sthankiya, global head, banking and payments, Kraken.
Later this year, the partnership will expand further, with Kraken’s European EMI entity Payward Ireland Limited set to onboard to ClearBank. This will make it Kraken’s primary clearing bank in the EU region, granting clients access to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and opening up sterling and euro clearing services to both UK and EU-based clients.
