Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has signed an agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company that owns Lithuania-based Saldo Bank. The price was not disclosed. If regulators approve the transaction, it would give Payward control of an EU-licensed bank and make it the first crypto-native company to acquire a European bank.
Saldo Bank holds about $190 million in assets and is licensed in Lithuania, with authorization to operate across Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany and a passport to serve customers in the Netherlands. The bank offers term deposits in those markets, consumer loans in Lithuania, Finland and Sweden, and small-business lending in Lithuania and Finland. Its credit card is available in Finland, with a Swedish launch planned for 2027.
Payward said the acquisition would support interest-bearing deposits, consumer and small-business loans, payment cards, euro payments and banking-as-a-service products. The company said Saldo also brings lending infrastructure used by fintech partners in Finland and Germany, as well as access to SEPA payments and card issuance.
The planned purchase extends a banking strategy Payward has been building through separate regulated operations. The company said its banking business has originated more than $2 billion in loans, holds a limited-purpose master account with the Federal Reserve and operates with an electronic-money institution license in Ireland. Payward has also sought to expand its banking permissions in the United States.
Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the EU bank would allow the company to give European customers one place to hold assets, move money and access financial products.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. Payward expects it to close in 2027; until then, the acquisition does not by itself make the planned banking products available through Kraken.