Kraken’s parent company, Payward, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Finland’s Saldo Finance Oy, owner of Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank, in a transaction expected to close in 2027 that would expand its banking services across five European markets.
Summary
- Kraken parent Payward signed an agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, owner of Lithuanian Saldo Bank.
- Saldo Bank operates in four European markets and holds additional banking authorization for the Netherlands.
- Payward expects the acquisition to close during 2027, pending regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
- The proposed acquisition would expand Payward Banking into deposits, consumer lending, business loans, and cards.
- Payward says its existing banking infrastructure includes an Irish EMI license and Federal Reserve access.
Payward announced the agreement on October 14, confirming plans to bring Saldo Bank’s lending, deposit and payment infrastructure into its financial services business. The proposed acquisition remains subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. The company did not disclose the purchase price.
Kraken bank acquisition will expand services across Europe
The agreement covers Saldo Finance Oy, a Finnish holding company whose subsidiary, Saldo Bank UAB, operates as a specialized bank licensed in Lithuania. Payward intends to use the institution’s existing infrastructure to offer banking products directly to European customers.
Saldo Bank currently operates across Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, with authorization to extend its services to the Netherlands. Its existing business includes consumer lending, financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, and term deposits.
The acquisition would allow Payward Banking to build on products that Saldo already provides. The company’s plans include interest-bearing deposits, secured and unsecured business loans, consumer credit, and payment cards.
According to the announcement, Saldo holds retail term deposits across its four operating markets. Consumer lending is available in Lithuania, Finland and Sweden, while business lending operates in Lithuania and Finland.
Its credit card service has launched in Finland, with a Swedish launch expected in 2027. The bank has established partnerships in Finland and Germany that allow financial technology companies to offer lending products using Saldo’s infrastructure.
Payward expects the acquisition to support similar services across its own operations. However, the company has not announced when individual products will become available to Kraken customers or which countries will receive them first.
The October 14 agreement establishes the proposed ownership transaction. Launching new banking services through the acquired institution will depend on regulatory permissions, customer eligibility and the completion of the planned integration.
Saldo Bank brings lending and payment services to Payward
Beyond consumer banking, the acquisition would provide Payward with infrastructure used by other financial technology businesses.
Saldo has developed banking-as-a-service capabilities that allow partners to connect lending products to their existing applications. Its operations include automated loan assessments and embedded financing arrangements.
Payward plans to use those systems alongside card issuance and access to the Single Euro Payments Area, known as SEPA. The payment network supports euro transfers between participating banks and financial institutions.
Through the proposed integration, the company expects to offer payment services and lending infrastructure to businesses using Payward’s financial technology products.
Jarkko Mäensivu, president of Saldo Bank, said the acquisition would connect the lender’s established operations with Payward’s regulated financial infrastructure.
“A banking license is only as valuable as what you build on top of it,” Mäensivu said in the announcement.
He explained that Saldo had developed services for multiple European countries, including lending infrastructure used by other fintech companies. Combining the two businesses, he said, could allow more customers to access banking, payments and credit through a single provider.
Saldo’s banking license is not a new authorization obtained through the acquisition agreement. The institution received a specialized banking license from the European Central Bank in October 2021.
Previously, Saldo confirmed that the authorization permitted it to accept deposits, issue loans and provide payment-related banking services.
The bank’s official website identifies the European Central Bank as its licensing authority and the Bank of Lithuania as its regulator. The company currently offers consumer loans, business loans and term deposits.
Payward has been building banking services in the U.S.
Payward’s European acquisition plans follow several years of developing regulated financial services in the United States.
The company said its banking infrastructure includes a limited-purpose Federal Reserve master account and an electronic money institution license issued by the Central Bank of Ireland.
In its latest announcement, Payward reported originating more than $2 billion in loans through its existing operations. The figure refers to lending activity already completed by the group, not additional loans expected from Saldo Bank.
The Federal Reserve account belongs to Kraken Financial, Payward’s Wyoming-chartered banking institution. It provides limited access to the U.S. central bank’s payment infrastructure under specific conditions.
Earlier Kraken banking developments in the United States followed the approval of Kraken Financial’s limited-purpose master account in March 2026. Banking industry groups raised questions about the arrangement and its regulatory safeguards.
Payward subsequently pursued federal authorization for another financial institution.
On May 8, the company filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Payward National Trust Company.
The proposed trust company would provide regulated custody and fiduciary services for digital assets, serving institutional clients and eligible individual customers.
The earlier Payward national trust charter application remains separate from the European banking acquisition. A national trust company would focus on custody services, while Saldo Bank already operates consumer and business lending products.
Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi described the Saldo acquisition as another stage in the company’s existing banking strategy.
“Payward Banking is not a new ambition,” Sethi said, explaining that the company had spent years building its operations through different licenses and markets.
He said the European banking license would help Payward serve customers through a platform where they could hold assets, move money and access financial products.
Payward plans to close the Saldo deal in 2027
The acquisition agreement arrives after Payward expanded its regulated cryptocurrency services in Europe.
In June 2025, Kraken secured authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation through the Central Bank of Ireland.
The Kraken MiCA license approval allowed the exchange to expand regulated cryptocurrency services across the European Economic Area.
Kraken had previously developed a regulated European derivatives business through a Cyprus-based investment firm operating under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.
Those permissions cover activities different from Saldo Bank’s deposit-taking and lending operations. Payward’s proposed purchase would add an existing banking institution to its European group.
The company’s expansion has included partnerships with conventional financial institutions.
In October, Payward and Singapore Gulf Bank introduced settlement arrangements designed to allow selected institutional customers to move U.S. dollars around the clock.
The Payward and Singapore Gulf Bank settlement partnership initially focused on clients in Asia and the Gulf, with plans to support additional currencies and customers.
Separately, Payward has been developing financial products involving cryptocurrency trading, tokenized equities and wealth services.
The latest announcement did not provide a timetable for connecting those products to Saldo Bank’s existing deposit or credit services.
For the planned acquisition, Payward confirmed that regulatory reviews and integration work were underway.
The transaction is expected to close in 2027 after the companies satisfy the required approvals and customary conditions. No specific completion date or purchase consideration was disclosed.
