South Korea-based digital financial infrastructure company SOOHO.IO and Singapore-headquartered settlement network Partior have signed a memorandum of understanding to connect SOOHO.IO’s Ezys platform with Partior’s live multi-currency settlement rails.
Under the agreement, the companies plan to let Ezys route cross-border transactions to Partior’s network of tokenized commercial bank deposits. Partior currently supports live settlement in US dollars, Singapore dollars and euros.
SOOHO.IO describes Ezys as an open network that can aggregate multiple liquidity sources and compare exchange rates and transaction terms across financial institutions. The platform is intended to select a transaction route before settlement is executed through Partior or other connected rails.
Connecting Korean payment infrastructure
The companies said the collaboration is intended to give Korean financial institutions a path from domestic deposit-token infrastructure to cross-border settlement networks.
SOOHO.IO has participated in Project Hangang, the Bank of Korea’s central bank digital currency trial. The company said it plans to apply experience from digital-currency infrastructure projects to the integration with Partior.
Partior operates a private permissioned ledger for institutional payments and foreign-exchange settlement. Its network provides 24/7 multi-currency clearing and settlement and is used by financial institutions including DBS, J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and Emirates NBD, according to the company.
The MOU does not set out a launch date for a production service involving Korean banks. The companies said they will work with commercial banks on infrastructure that can support tokenized deposits within existing compliance requirements.
SOOHO.IO expands its cross-border infrastructure focus
SOOHO.IO has been developing blockchain-based infrastructure for financial institutions since 2019. Its products now include Ezys for payments and settlement, Purplace for purpose-bound money and Reagent for smart-contract security management.
TNGlobal previously covered SOOHO.IO’s work on connecting South Korea’s blockchain infrastructure, including a 2022 partnership with Lambda256.
Partior was established with backing from DBS, J.P. Morgan and Temasek and has since added investors including Peak XV, Valor Capital, Deutsche Bank and Emirates NBD. Its infrastructure is designed to interoperate with existing bank systems while settling transactions on a shared ledger.
SOOHO.IO Chief Executive Officer Jisoo Park said the companies plan to work with Korean commercial banks on a global financial pipeline for tokenized deposits. Partior Chief Executive Officer Humphrey Valenbreder said the connection would allow Korean institutions to access infrastructure already processing commercial cross-border volumes.
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