Kraken’s parent company, Payward, is buying its way into European banking, striking a deal to acquire Lithuania-licensed Saldo Bank and its five-market footprint. The purchase would bring deposit accounts, lending, payment services, and card issuance into the cryptocurrency company’s expanding financial operation.
Key Takeaways
- Payward agreed to acquire Saldo Bank’s Finnish parent, securing a path toward an EU banking license.
- Saldo Bank operates across four European markets, with authorization to expand into the Netherlands.
- Kraken’s parent expects the acquisition to close in 2027, pending regulatory approval.
Payward Targets European Banking License With Saldo Acquisition
Payward announced the definitive agreement on Oct. 14, 2026, to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company behind Saldo Bank UAB. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, and the transaction requires regulatory approval before its anticipated closing in 2027.
The deal would give Payward Banking access to a European Union specialized banking license, allowing the company to expand beyond cryptocurrency trading into conventional financial services. Saldo already operates in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany, with authorization to enter the Netherlands.
“Payward Banking is not a new ambition—it is a business we have been building license by license, market by market,” said Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi, in a statement. Sethi added that the company’s ambitions extend beyond Europe, envisioning a single institution where customers can hold assets, move money, and earn returns.
From Finnish Consumer Loans to a Five-Market Bank
Saldo’s history stretches back to 2006, when the business began as a Finnish consumer lender. Originally associated with Tact Finance, it developed automated credit-scoring technology before adopting the Saldo Finance name in 2019. Its transformation accelerated in October 2021, when it secured a specialized banking license through Lithuania’s regulatory framework. Full banking operations commenced in February 2023, followed by expansion into Nordic and European deposit markets the following year.
By year-end 2025, Saldo reported approximately €163 million in assets, €124 million in outstanding loans, and €137 million in retail deposits. Annual revenue reached €28 million, with operating profit of €10 million. “A banking license is only as valuable as what you build on top of it,” said Saldo Bank President Jarkko Mäensivu.
The bank’s executive added:
“Payward has spent years assembling regulated infrastructure across the U.S. and Europe. Saldo Bank’s infrastructure was built to be Europe-wide, enabling innovative banking solutions including embedded services for other fintechs.”
Kraken’s 15-Year Journey From Crypto Exchange to Banking
Founded in 2011 by Jesse Powell and fellow entrepreneurs, Kraken emerged after the security failures surrounding bitcoin exchange Mt Gox exposed weaknesses in early cryptocurrency trading infrastructure. The exchange launched publicly in September 2013, initially supporting bitcoin (BTC), litecoin (LTC), and euro trading pairs.
The centralized exchange (CEX) Kraken subsequently expanded through acquisitions, including Coinsetter in 2016 and Crypto Facilities in 2019. Its Wyoming banking charter in 2020 marked another departure from its exchange-only origins. Now Payward Banking has originated more than $2 billion in loans and assembled regulated infrastructure that includes an Irish electronic money institution license and limited-purpose Federal Reserve master account access.
The Saldo acquisition adds another piece to that financial machinery, potentially bringing interest-bearing deposits, consumer credit, small-business lending, and Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) transfers under Payward’s umbrella. For a company born from distrust of early cryptocurrency exchanges, the next chapter involves acquiring something decidedly traditional: a bank.