Kraken parent Payward agrees to buy Saldo Bank and secure EU banking license

Payward has agreed to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish parent company of Saldo Bank, as it expands into regulated banking services in Europe. The deal would give Payward access to a Lithuanian banking license and support its push into lending, card issuance and deposit services.

The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Payward announced the agreement on October 14, 2026, saying the acquisition would advance Payward Banking, its financial infrastructure business, which has originated more than $2 billion in loans.

What Payward is actually getting

Saldo Bank is a digital-first specialized bank licensed in Lithuania, with passporting rights across five European markets. It serves customers in Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany, and is authorized to operate in the Netherlands.

The bank offers retail term deposits across all its markets, consumer loans in Lithuania, Finland and Sweden, and secured and unsecured small and medium-sized enterprise loans in Lithuania and Finland. Its credit card is already available in Finland, with a launch in Sweden expected in 2027.

The acquisition is expected to enable Payward Banking to offer European clients interest-bearing deposits, lending products and banking-as-a-service capabilities, including passporting, card issuance and SME lending. The combined business would also build on Saldo Bank’s full access to SEPA payments and its embedded lending services for fintech companies in Finland and Germany.

The transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

What this means for Payward and the industry

The acquisition would expand Payward’s regulated financial infrastructure in Europe, adding banking capabilities to its existing operations. Payward already holds a limited-purpose master account with the US Federal Reserve and an electronic money institution license granted by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The deal supports Payward’s ambition to bring asset holding, payments and lending together within a single financial platform. Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the EU banking license would help the company serve European customers through one place to hold assets, move money and access financial products.

Saldo Bank President Jarkko Mäensivu said the combination would bring together Payward’s regulated infrastructure and the bank’s European footprint to expand access to banking, payments and lending services.

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, with completion expected in 2027. 

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.