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Payward, the parent company of Kraken, announced on October 14, 2026, that it signed an agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company behind Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank UAB. The transaction is expected to close in 2027, pending regulatory approval, and is intended to add European banking infrastructure for deposits, lending, cards and payments.
What Payward is buying
The legal target is Saldo Finance Oy, a Finnish holding company—not a standalone purchase of a Lithuanian operating unit. Its subsidiary, Saldo Bank UAB, is a digital-first specialized bank licensed in Lithuania. Payward has signed a definitive agreement, but the deal is not yet complete. Closing is expected in 2027 and remains subject to regulatory approvals.
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The purchase price has not been disclosed. The announcements also do not identify a regulator that has already approved the transaction, so the agreement should not be treated as an authorization for immediate new banking products.
Why Payward wants a Lithuanian bank
Payward describes Saldo as an infrastructure acquisition for Payward Banking. The planned banking layer is intended to let Payward offer European customers more services from one regulated platform instead of relying only on exchange and electronic-money capabilities.
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“We’re not acquiring a bank to be a bank. We’re acquiring the infrastructure to let Payward serve European clients the way a primary financial institution should: one place to hold assets, move them freely, and put them to work.”
Payward says the proposed capabilities include interest on deposits, secured and unsecured lending for small and midsize businesses, consumer loans, credit cards, card issuance, full access to SEPA payments and banking-as-a-service for fintech partners. Those are the strategic objectives described by Payward; availability, launch dates and eligibility will depend on approvals, integration and the market in which a customer lives.
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What Saldo Bank already does
Saldo Bank is licensed in Lithuania and passports its services across five European markets. Payward says the bank serves retail and small-business customers in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, while also holding a Netherlands passport. Its products are not identical in every country.
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| Market or coverage | Products identified by Payward |
|---|---|
| Lithuania | Retail term deposits, consumer lending and SME lending |
| Finland | Retail term deposits, consumer lending, SME lending and a credit card |
| Sweden | Retail term deposits and consumer lending; a credit-card launch is expected in 2027 |
| Germany | Retail term deposits |
| Netherlands | Passporting identified; a separate product range is not stated |
This existing footprint gives Payward a bank that already has cross-border operating experience, rather than requiring every deposit, loan or card product to be built from zero. It does not mean every Saldo product will automatically become available to Kraken customers or expand to every passported country.
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- Tap once to manage your entire crypto wallet across 90 blockchains - no USB cables or Bluetooth, no batteries, no setup. Access 16,100+ coins & tokens, DeFi, NFTs, and staking instantly from your phone
- Backup without a seed phrase: Your wallet is copied to 2 backup cards with end-to-end encryption, so there are no words on paper to lose or leak. Keep them in separate places; if one card is lost, the others restore full access. Optional seed phrase for advanced users.
- Engineered to last up to 25 years: Waterproof (IP69K), shockproof and tested for extreme temperatures from −25°C to 50°C. A durable cold wallet with long‑term protection and independently audited security.
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Which services are live and which are still planned
The distinction between Saldo’s current products and Payward’s post-acquisition ambitions is important. The acquisition announcement sets out a roadmap, not a launch schedule.
| Capability | Status described in the announcement | What readers can conclude |
|---|---|---|
| Retail term deposits | Already offered by Saldo in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany | Existing Saldo coverage; no automatic Kraken availability was announced |
| Consumer lending | Already offered in Lithuania, Finland and Sweden | Market-specific product, not a Europe-wide commitment |
| SME lending | Already offered in Lithuania and Finland | Current coverage is narrower than Saldo’s deposit footprint |
| Credit cards | Launched in Finland; Sweden expected in 2027 | Expansion is staged by country |
| Interest on deposits, additional lending, card issuance, full SEPA access and banking-as-a-service | Planned Payward Banking capabilities | Timing and final availability are not stated and remain subject to approvals |
Consequently, a European Kraken user should not assume that an exchange balance will become a bank deposit, that a loan application will be available at closing, or that a card will work in every European Economic Area country. Payward has not announced customer terms, rates, credit criteria or deposit-protection arrangements for the proposed combined offering.
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How the purchase fits Payward’s existing regulated businesses
Payward is not starting its regulated strategy with Saldo. The company says Payward Banking has originated more than $2 billion in loans. It also says it already holds a Federal Reserve limited-purpose master account and an electronic-money institution license from the Central Bank of Ireland.
| Regulated layer | Position disclosed by Payward | Role of the Saldo transaction |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Federal Reserve limited-purpose master account | Part of Payward’s existing regulated payments infrastructure |
| Ireland and the European Union | Electronic-money institution license from the Central Bank of Ireland | Provides an existing EU regulatory base but is not the same as a bank license |
| European banking | Not yet supplied by Saldo to Payward; acquisition pending | Adds a Lithuania-licensed bank and its passported deposit, lending and payments infrastructure if approved |
| Lending activity | More than $2 billion originated by Payward Banking, according to Payward | Shows an existing lending operation that could be paired with Saldo’s bank capabilities |
The strategy is therefore license by license: Payward keeps its existing U.S. and Irish permissions while seeking access to a full EU banking layer through Saldo. The announcement does not say that the Federal Reserve account or Irish EMI license will be replaced.
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Approval, timing and unanswered questions
The expected 2027 closing date is a target, not a guaranteed launch date. Before completion, the parties must obtain the approvals required for the acquisition and any subsequent product changes. No already-approved transaction regulator is named in the official announcements.
- Purchase price: not stated.
- Regulator that has approved the deal: not stated; approvals are still pending.
- Customer launch date: not stated.
- Country-by-country eligibility: not stated for the proposed Payward products.
- Deposit safeguards and account terms: not stated for the future combined offering.
Readers watching the deal should look for a closing announcement, the relevant regulatory decisions, a description of which legal entity will hold customer funds, and country-specific terms for deposits, credit, cards and SEPA transfers. Until those details are published, the transaction is best understood as a planned infrastructure expansion rather than a new bank account or loan product available today.
What the deal could mean for European customers
If completed, Payward would have a clearer path to combine crypto-related services with conventional banking functions inside a passported EU structure. Customers could eventually see deposits that earn interest, access to credit, payment accounts and cards, while fintech companies could gain banking-as-a-service options. The practical value will depend on the products Payward actually launches, the countries it serves and the protections and pricing attached to each service.
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