NEW YORK, NY and MIAMI, FL - July 23, 2026 -- Siebert Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: SIEB) (“Siebert”), a diversified financial services company, today announced that Kakao Pay Securities has selected Siebert as its U.S. financial partner to advance a new model for investing in South Korean equities.
At the center of the collaboration is a bold goal: use tokenization to give American investors access to South Korean stocks beyond traditional market hours, creating the potential for around-the-clock trading across two of the world’s major financial markets.
The initiative, known as the “K-Stock Global Gateway,” brings together Kakao Pay Securities’ technology, digital content and deep connection to South Korea’s investment ecosystem with Siebert’s U.S. market access, brokerage capabilities and financial infrastructure. Kakao Pay Securities has approximately 9 million stock accounts, providing the partnership with significant reach across South Korea’s growing community of investors.
The companies are working toward creating a direct path for Siebert clients to access South Korean equities, with an initial service targeted for the first half of 2027.
As part of the initiative, Siebert and Kakao Pay Securities are exploring the tokenization of South Korean stocks as a way to overcome the significant time-zone difference between U.S. and Korean markets. The model is intended to enable investors to trade Korean equities outside traditional Korean market hours, while also supporting faster settlement and a more connected cross-border investing experience.
Tokenization represents one of many financial products and opportunities the companies expect to explore through the partnership. As the relationship develops, Siebert and Kakao Pay Securities intend to identify new ways to connect investors across the U.S. and South Korean markets, expand access to financial products and build new cross-border investment opportunities.
“Kakao Pay Securities choosing Siebert as its U.S. partner is a strong validation of the financial infrastructure we are providing,” said John J. Gebbia, Chief Executive Officer of Siebert Financial. “Our goal is to help remove the barriers between global markets. Tokenization is an important first opportunity, but we see the potential of this partnership going much further. By combining Siebert’s U.S. infrastructure with Kakao Pay Securities’ technology, scale and leadership in South Korea, we can create new ways for investors in both markets to access financial products and opportunities that were previously difficult to reach.”
The initiative is also expected to explore how tokenized securities could support real-time settlement, or T+0, allowing investors to access funds from completed transactions more quickly.
“We want to build a global gateway for K-shares by combining Kakao Pay Securities' technology, content, and community capabilities with Siebert's access to the U.S.,” said Simon Shin, Chief Executive Officer of Kakao Pay Securities.
The partnership is designed to go beyond transaction access. By combining brokerage infrastructure with market content and investor education, Siebert and Kakao Pay Securities aim to make South Korean companies more accessible and easier to understand for American investors, while building the foundation for a broader pipeline of financial products and cross-border opportunities.
As global markets become more connected, Siebert intends to be at the forefront of that shift. Through its partnership with Kakao Pay Securities, Siebert is building toward a future where investors can access more markets, more products, and more opportunities through a financial platform they already know and trust.
Any implementation will remain subject to applicable regulatory requirements and investor protection standards in the United States and South Korea.
Read the full press release here.