Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kr, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lithuania-based Saldo Bank, marking a significant step in its expansion into traditional financial services. The company described the deal as “a deliberate next step in an infrastructure strategy we’ve been building for years” and expects it to close in 2027.

Under the terms of the deal, Payward will acquire Saldo Finance Oy, a Finnish holding company whose subsidiary, Saldo Bank UAB, operates as a digital bank licensed in Lithuania. The transaction was announced on Wednesday in an official press release published by Payward.

Payward said Saldo Bank’s European Union banking license and existing footprint will enable it to expand its traditional banking operations into four operating markets: Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Germany, where the bank already offers retail term deposits to customers. The bank’s authorization is also passported into the Netherlands, bringing the license’s coverage to five European markets in total. Passporting is the mechanism that makes a single EU banking license broadly useful: once a bank is authorized in one member state, it can offer its services in others without seeking separate approval from each national regulator.

Subject to customary regulatory approvals, the completed acquisition would enable Payward Banking to offer traditional banking services, including interest on deposits and lending products, alongside banking-as-a-service offerings such as card issuance, passporting, and lending capabilities for small and medium-sized enterprises. Banking-as-a-service refers to arrangements in which a licensed bank supplies its regulated infrastructure, such as card issuance and lending, so that other companies can offer financial products without obtaining banking licenses of their own.

“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,” said Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi.

The deal is the latest move in Payward’s broader push into financial services. In August, the company launched a multi-asset debit card in the United States through Kraken’s payment app, Krak, allowing customers to spend both crypto and fiat currencies while earning up to 2% cashback, paid in dollars or Bitcoin.

The Saldo Bank acquisition follows another international milestone for the company: Kraken’s parent previously cleared Dubai’s final regulatory hurdle for a dirham trading rollout in the United Arab Emirates. If the transaction clears regulatory review, Payward would add regulated deposit-taking and lending to a footprint that already spans crypto trading, payments, and card issuance, advancing the company’s stated strategy of building financial infrastructure beyond its core exchange business.

Source: Cointelegraph