Key Highlights
- Kraken’s parent company, Payward, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, owner of EU-licensed Saldo Bank in Lithuania.
- The deal is expected to be completed in 2027, according to the official press release.
- The acquisition will provide Payward a full EU banking license for deposits, lending, cards, and payments across 5 European markets, which could enable integrated cash, crypto, tokenized stocks, and credit services.
On October 14, Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company that owns Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank UAB.
Kraken’s Parent Company Discloses Details of the Acquisition
In the latest press release, Payward revealed that the deal is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. However, financial terms were not disclosed.
This is the first time that a digital asset company behind Kraken has agreed to buy a fully licensed EU bank. Saldo Bank holds a specialized banking license issued in 2021 by the Bank of Lithuania with European Central Bank authorization and the license supports passporting across 5 European markets.
Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward, stated in the press release, “Payward Banking is not a new ambition – it is a business we have been building license by license, market by market. A regulated EU bank is the piece that lets us serve European clients the way a primary financial institution should: one place to hold assets, move them freely, and put them to work. We believe whoever owns that relationship earns the right to serve everything around it. We are starting in the EU, and the ambition is global.”
Saldo Bank is a digital-first specialized bank that serves customers in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany, with additional passporting rights for the Netherlands. It offers retail term deposits in all its markets. Consumer loans are available in Lithuania, Finland, and Sweden, while secured and unsecured SME loans operate in Lithuania and Finland. The bank also provides embedded lending partnerships in Finland and Germany for other fintech companies.
Payward mentioned that the acquisition will expand its Payward Banking division, which has already originated more than $2 billion in loans. The company already holds an electronic money institution from the Central Bank of Ireland and a limited-purpose Federal Reserve master account in the United States. Combining these with Saldo’s infrastructure is expected to allow European clients to earn interest on deposits, access lending products, and use banking-as-a-service features such as card issuance and SME lending, subject to approvals.
Jarkko Mäensivu, President of Saldo Bank, mentioned that “A banking license is only as valuable as what you build on top of it. Payward has spent years assembling regulated infrastructure across the US and Europe. Saldo Bank’s infrastructure was built to be Europe-wide, enabling innovative banking solutions including embedded services for other fintechs. Combining these capabilities with our five-market footprint means far more customers can access the full range of what both businesses offer – banking, payments, and lending in one place.”
Kraken and Payward Win Major Regulatory Approvals
Just two days before the Saldo announcement, on October 12, Payward received Full Market Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). This final license allows Kraken to launch services in the UAE in the upcoming weeks, including dirham-denominated spot and margin trading pairs, direct dirham deposits and withdrawals, staking, and xStocks for retail, professional, and institutional clients. Crypto derivatives and additional yield products on Kraken are planned for later in 2026 and 2027.
Payward has pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy. In April 2026, it completed the purchase of Bitnomial for up to $550 million, securing U.S. futures, clearing, and trading licences. In May, it agreed to acquire Asian stablecoin payments firm Reap Technologies for up to $600 million, a deal that closed in July.
Earlier moves included the $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader and the purchase of Magic Labs’ embedded wallet business. Nasdaq invested in Payward at a $21 billion valuation in September 2026. The company confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO in late 2025 but has delayed the listing to at least the second quarter of 2027.
Last year, Kraken revealed its plan to acquire Backed Finance to expand its tokenization offerings.
