Kraken Parent Payward Agrees to Buy EU-Licensed Saldo Bank’s Finnish Parent
Oct. 15, 2026 • Article • Companies & Deals
Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company of Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank UAB. Announced on October 14, 2026, the transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to customary approvals from the European Central Bank and the Bank of Lithuania. The purchase price was not disclosed.
The deal would give Payward an EU-licensed bank alongside its existing European electronic money institution license. That license permits fund holding and payment processing but not lending or paying yield on customer deposits. Once the acquisition closes, Payward plans to use the banking license to offer interest-bearing euro deposits, consumer credit and direct SEPA clearing without intermediary banks. Saldo Bank already provides deposits, lending and banking-as-a-service infrastructure. Payward also plans to extend Saldo’s consumer credit card offering from Finland to Sweden in 2027.
Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company of Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank UAB. Announced on October 14, 2026, the deal would add a licensed credit institution to Payward’s European operations, giving it a route to banking services that its existing electronic money institution license does not permit.
The transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to customary regulatory approvals from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Lithuania. Until then, the banking license and the capabilities attached to it remain with Saldo Bank. Payward did not disclose a purchase price in its announcement.
The Bank Payward Plans to Acquire
Saldo Bank holds a specialized banking license issued by the ECB and is supervised by the Bank of Lithuania. Its business spans retail term deposits, consumer lending, secured and unsecured loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, and banking-as-a-service infrastructure. It employed more than 90 people as of September 2026.
The agreement is for Saldo Finance, the Finnish holding company, rather than a direct purchase of the bank as a standalone entity. That distinction matters to the transaction’s structure, but the operating bank and its license are the principal reason the deal could change Payward’s European financial-services capabilities.
According to the verified deal details, the acquisition would give Payward operational infrastructure across Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, as well as passporting rights into the Netherlands. Those rights would form part of the group’s reach after completion; they do not mean the transaction has already received regulatory approval.
If completed, the acquisition would make Payward the first crypto-native corporate group to acquire an EU-licensed bank. That distinction is contingent on closing, rather than a status Payward holds through the agreement alone.
Why a Banking License Changes the Offering
Payward’s European subsidiary already has an electronic money institution, or EMI, license from the Central Bank of Ireland. An EMI license permits fund holding and payment processing, but does not allow its holder to lend or pay yield on customer deposits. A credit institution license would remove those particular limits for Payward Banking following completion of the acquisition.
Payward plans to use the banking capability to offer interest-bearing euro deposits and consumer credit directly. The license would also enable direct clearing of SEPA payments without third-party intermediary banks. SEPA is the euro payments framework referenced in Payward’s banking plans; direct clearing would change how those payments are processed, rather than simply adding another customer-facing product.
The distinction between the existing EMI permission and a bank license is central to the deal. Payward can already hold funds and process payments under its Irish authorization. The proposed acquisition would add the regulated capacity to take interest-bearing deposits and extend credit, while providing infrastructure for direct payment clearing. Those planned services depend on the transaction closing and the required approvals being granted.
Expansion Plans and Remaining Steps
Saldo Bank’s current activities give Payward a banking business with deposit and lending products, rather than only a license for future use. Payward plans to expand Saldo Bank’s consumer credit card offering to Sweden in 2027, alongside its existing operations in Finland. That is a post-closing plan, not an expansion announced as complete.
The agreement follows another step in Payward’s multi-jurisdiction infrastructure expansion: in March 2026, it secured a limited-purpose master account with the U.S. Federal Reserve. The research package places these moves ahead of a planned initial public offering, but provides no timetable for that offering. The U.S. account and the proposed European bank acquisition are separate developments, each concerning financial infrastructure in a different jurisdiction.
For now, the decisive next step is regulatory review. Approval from the ECB and the Bank of Lithuania is required before Payward can complete the purchase. Only after closing could it bring Saldo Bank’s licensed activities into the group and pursue the broader European banking services described in its plans. The terms of the acquisition remain undisclosed, leaving the transaction’s financial size unclear.
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Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company of Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank UAB. Announced on October 14, 2026, the transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to customary approvals from the European Central Bank and the Bank of Lithuania. The purchase price was not disclosed. The deal would give Payward an EU-licensed bank alongside its existing European electronic money institution license. That license permits fund holding and payment processing but not lending or paying yield on customer deposits. Once the acquisition closes, Payward plans to use the banking license to offer interest-bearing euro deposits, consumer credit and direct SEPA clearing without intermediary banks. Saldo Bank already provides deposits, lending and banking-as-a-service infrastructure. Payward also plans to extend Saldo’s consumer credit card offering from Finland to Sweden in 2027.
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