Kraken's parent Payward to acquire Lithuanian Saldo Bank for TradFi expansion

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, signed an agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, which operates Saldo Bank UAB, a digital bank licensed in Lithuania. This acquisition is part of Payward's infrastructure strategy to expand into traditional financial services across four markets: Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany. The bank's EU banking license is also passported into the Netherlands. The deal is expected to close in 2027, pending regulatory approvals, and will enable Payward Banking to offer services like interest on deposits, lending products, and banking-as-a-service to SMEs. Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said a regulated EU bank allows them to serve European clients as a primary financial institution by enabling asset holding, free movement, and utilization.