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.

Wells Fargo is reportedly in private, non-binding talks with Payward, the parent of Kraken, to access institutional cryptocurrency trading liquidity through its Payward Services division. The arrangement could let the bank support crypto transactions without building its own exchange and market infrastructure, but neither company has confirmed the discussions or announced a product. No launch date, supported assets, customer segment or pricing has been disclosed. The reported talks follow other digital-asset moves by Wells Fargo, including offering spot Bitcoin ETFs to eligible wealth clients, investing in crypto compliance and trading technology firms, and pursuing tokenized deposits for corporate clients. Those initiatives differ from direct crypto trading and do not establish that a Payward deal will proceed. Payward already provides liquidity to SoFi through Kraken Prime and has discussed broader institutional cooperation with BNY. Wells Fargo also advised Nasdaq on its September 2026 investment in Payward. For now, any trading service remains unconfirmed.