Payward signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company that owns Saldo Bank UAB. The transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Saldo holds a specialised bank licence in Lithuania and already operates across Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, with its authorization also passported into the Netherlands. The bank offers retail term deposits, consumer and SME lending and embedded financial services for other fintech companies.
What Does Saldo Bank Add to Payward?
The acquisition gives Payward something substantially different from another crypto or payments licence: the ability to operate a regulated bank balance sheet in the European Union.
Once the transaction closes and approvals are secured, Payward said its banking arm expects to offer interest-bearing deposits, secured and unsecured SME lending, consumer credit and banking-as-a-service infrastructure. Saldo also brings card issuance capabilities, SEPA payments access and embedded lending technology.
Saldo currently takes retail term deposits in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany. It provides consumer lending in Lithuania, Finland and Sweden and SME loans in Lithuania and Finland. Its credit card is already available in Finland, with a Swedish launch planned for 2027.
“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,” Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said.
The deal follows a strategy Payward had already outlined publicly. In August, the company said it was considering full banking licences outside the United States as it built its business around trading, banking and asset management.
Investor Takeaway
Saldo gives Payward direct access to deposits and lending income, reducing its dependence on crypto trading fees while increasing capital and banking-regulation obligations.
Why Buy a Bank Instead of Applying for a Licence?
Payward had already been exploring Lithuania as a route into European banking. Kraken was pursuing a European banking licence in Lithuania earlier this year, making the Saldo acquisition an alternative route to infrastructure that is already operational.
Buying Saldo provides more than regulatory authorization. Payward inherits existing deposit products, lending systems, banking staff and relationships in several European markets rather than building each component from scratch.
There are limits to what the licence provides. Lithuania’s specialised banks can accept deposits, make loans and provide payment services, but the licence does not itself authorize investment services. Kraken’s crypto, securities and trading businesses therefore continue to depend on separate regulated entities and permissions.
The distinction matters because Payward is assembling several financial layers rather than attempting to place every product inside one bank. Its existing infrastructure includes an Irish electronic-money licence and U.S. banking capabilities, while Kraken provides the trading layer.
What Regulatory Obligations Come With Saldo?
Owning a bank also introduces prudential requirements that differ materially from running a crypto exchange or electronic-money institution.
The Bank of Lithuania completed a Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process for Saldo Bank shortly before the acquisition announcement. Effective October 6, the regulator set a minimum total SREP capital requirement of 10.7%, alongside minimum Common Equity Tier 1 and Tier 1 capital ratios of 6.02% and 8.03%, respectively.
Saldo was also recommended to maintain an additional 1.75% of capital under Pillar 2 guidance. The requirements mean Payward will need to manage capital, liquidity, credit risk and lending growth alongside its existing market and digital-asset businesses.
Investor Takeaway
The bank licence expands Payward’s addressable market, but it also moves the group deeper into capital-intensive supervision where growth must be supported by regulated balance-sheet capacity.
How Does Saldo Fit Payward’s Bigger Strategy?
Payward has been building connections between crypto infrastructure and conventional finance rather than relying solely on Kraken’s exchange business.
Earlier this month, Payward partnered with Singapore Gulf Bank to develop infrastructure connecting fiat payments and digital assets. It has also expanded Kraken into conventional U.S. equities, tokenized stocks, payments and card products.
Saldo moves that strategy one step further because Payward would own the licensed banking infrastructure rather than access it through a partner.
That could eventually allow a European customer relationship to span deposits, payments, lending, crypto trading and other financial products within the wider Payward group, although individual services will remain subject to separate regulatory requirements and customer eligibility.
The immediate hurdle is regulatory approval of the acquisition. If the transaction closes as planned in 2027, Payward will move from talking about becoming a bank in Europe to owning one — and will take on the balance-sheet responsibilities that come with it.
