Fintech Power Play: Payward Acquires Saldo Bank in Aggressive EU Banking Licence Grab!

Payward, Inc., the unified financial infrastructure group operating Kraken and a portfolio of trading and asset-management products, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy. Saldo Finance is the Finnish holding company whose subsidiary, Saldo Bank UAB, holds a banking licence granted by the European Central Bank and regulated by the Bank of Lithuania. This strategic acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is anticipated to conclude in 2027; financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Saldo Bank currently serves a significant customer base across Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany, and possesses a passport that allows it to operate in the Netherlands. Its diverse product suite encompasses retail term deposits available in all four of its active markets, consumer loans offered in Lithuania, Finland, and Sweden, and both secured and unsecured SME loans provided in Lithuania and Finland. A credit card product is currently active in Finland and is slated for launch in Sweden next year. Beyond its direct-to-consumer offerings, Saldo Bank also functions as a B2B player, providing embedded lending infrastructure to other fintech firms operating in Finland and Germany. As of September 2026, the bank employed just over 90 individuals.

For Payward, this acquisition marks a material step in extending a licensing stack it has been assembling over several years. The group already holds a Federal Reserve limited-purpose master account in the United States and an e-money institution licence granted by the Central Bank of Ireland. The addition of an EU banking licence represents a significant upgrade, unlocking critical financial capabilities under a single regulated entity. These capabilities include deposit-taking, card issuance, lending, and access to full SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) payment rails, with passporting mechanisms facilitating cross-border scale within the EU.

Arjun Sethi, co-chief executive of Payward, clearly articulated the commercial logic behind the acquisition. He stated, “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.” Sethi emphasized the belief that owning this primary client relationship earns the right to serve everything around it. Payward Banking, a dedicated pillar within the wider group, has already originated more than two billion dollars in loans. The Saldo acquisition is specifically designed to bring this extensive lending capability into the European regulatory perimeter, alongside the provision of yield-bearing deposits and banking-as-a-service functionality for third-party fintech clients.

This transaction is part of a broader industry pattern where crypto-adjacent infrastructure groups are actively seeking full banking status within the EU. Holding a full banking licence, as opposed to a more limited e-money institution (EMI) licence, offers several crucial advantages. These include membership in a deposit-guarantee scheme, the ability to pay interest on deposits, and direct access to central bank liquidity facilities. However, it also brings tighter capital requirements under the Capital Requirements Regulation and direct supervisory oversight from the European Central Bank, which, while adding compliance overhead, confers significant credibility with institutional clients and corporate treasurers.

The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which reached its final implementation phase this year, has further underscored the commercial value of regulated banking infrastructure for digital-asset firms. MiCA creates a clear authorization pathway for crypto-asset service providers but notably does not grant deposit-taking or lending powers – capabilities that a full bank licence explicitly provides. For Payward, which already operates with a significant European retail and institutional client base under the Kraken brand, combining MiCA-authorised crypto services with a licensed bank allows it to present a more complete financial institution proposition than many of its peers can currently assemble.

In terms of the competitive landscape, many existing players, including several neobanks and banking-as-a-service platforms with EU licences, have generally grown from a traditional banking background into the crypto space (a