Siebert Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: SIEB) (“Siebert”), a diversified financial services company, said Kakao Pay Securities has selected it as its U.S. financial partner to advance a new model for investing in South Korean equities.

At the center of the collaboration is an effort to use tokenization to give American investors access to South Korean stocks beyond traditional market hours, with the goal of enabling around-the-clock trading across two major global financial markets.

The initiative, called the “K-Stock Global Gateway,” combines Kakao Pay Securities’ technology, digital content and 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, giving the partnership broad reach across South Korea’s investor base.

The companies said they are working toward a direct path for Siebert clients to access South Korean equities, with an initial service targeted for the first half of 2027. That timeline places the effort in a still-developing category of cross-border market access, where firms are increasingly pairing brokerage rails with new digital infrastructure to bridge trading hours and settlement processes.

As part of the initiative, Siebert and Kakao Pay Securities are exploring the tokenization of South Korean stocks as a way to address the significant time-zone difference between U.S. and Korean markets. The model is intended to let investors trade Korean equities outside traditional Korean market hours, while also supporting faster settlement and a more connected cross-border investing experience.

Tokenization is one of several financial products and opportunities the companies expect to explore through the partnership. As the relationship develops, Siebert and Kakao Pay Securities said they intend to identify additional 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 said they 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.

Siebert said it intends to be at the forefront of the shift toward more connected global markets. Through its partnership with Kakao Pay Securities, the company said it 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.

About Siebert Financial Corp.

Siebert is a diversified financial services company and has been a member of the NYSE since 1967, when Muriel Siebert became the first woman to own a seat on the NYSE and the first to head one of its member firms.

Siebert operates through its subsidiaries Muriel Siebert & Co., LLC, Siebert AdvisorNXT, LLC, Park Wilshire Companies, Inc., RISE Financial Services, LLC, Siebert Technologies, LLC, StockCross Digital Solutions, Ltd., Gebbia Media LLC and Siebert Crypto, LLC. Through these entities, Siebert provides a range of brokerage and financial advisory services, including securities brokerage, investment banking and capital markets services, investment advisory and insurance offerings, securities lending, corporate stock plan administration solutions, as well as sports management, entertainment and media productions. For more than 58 years, Siebert has said it has valued its clients, shareholders and employees. More information is available at www.siebert.com.