Payward, the parent company of Kraken, plans to acquire Saldo Bank and expand into deposits, lending and payments. Bundling these services in one app does not, however, unify their legal protections: bank deposits, e-money balances and Bitcoin held in custody remain governed by separate contracts and entities.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Payward announced the acquisition of Saldo Finance Oy on 14 October, with closing targeted for 2027 subject to regulatory approval.
- Eligible Saldo deposits are covered by the Lithuanian deposit guarantee up to EUR 100,000 per depositor per bank.
- E-money balances and Bitcoin held on Kraken carry no equivalent deposit insurance.
- Saldo Bank posted a net loss of EUR 545,000 in the first half of 2026.
A Bank Bolted onto a Crypto Exchange
On 14 October, Payward announced the acquisition of Saldo Finance Oy, a Finnish company that owns the Lithuanian lender Saldo Bank. The deal still requires regulatory approval and is expected to close in 2027. It would add deposit accounts, lending and payment services to a group built around crypto trading.
The stated goal is services that work in quiet markets as well as during heavy trading. Payward is weighing interest-bearing deposits, consumer and business loans, cards, and banking services for other financial institutions, including payments and the issuance of payment instruments. The group has joined the institutional dollar payment network of Singapore Gulf Bank, and Nasdaq has agreed to invest USD 100 million in the group.
Three Assets, Three Protection Regimes
Putting these products in one app does not standardise the legal protection of client funds. A Saldo Bank deposit, an e-money balance held by Payward Ireland Limited and Bitcoin held with a custody service fall under different contracts and legal entities, even when their values appear in euros.
Bank Deposits: A Capped Guarantee
An eligible deposit at Saldo Bank UAB is covered by the Lithuanian deposit guarantee scheme, which generally protects up to EUR 100,000 per depositor and per institution. The cap applies to all eligible deposits a client holds at that bank, not to each account or app screen.
| Scenario | Amount deposited | Covered | Not covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible account A | EUR 90,000 | EUR 90,000 | EUR 0 |
| Eligible account B | EUR 20,000 | EUR 10,000 | EUR 10,000 |
| Total at Saldo | EUR 110,000 | EUR 100,000 | EUR 10,000 |
In this example, EUR 10,000 falls outside the guarantee on a total of EUR 110,000 deposited. The mechanism applies only to eligible bank deposits.
E-Money: Segregated, but Not Guaranteed Like a Deposit
E-money balances covered by Kraken’s safeguarding disclosure for European Economic Area clients belong to Payward Ireland Limited, an e-money institution. The funds are segregated from the institution’s own capital and their use is restricted, but they do not benefit from the same guarantee as bank deposits. In an insolvency, recovery depends on the applicable procedure, which can involve delays and costs. The absence of a EUR 100,000 ceiling does not mean the state guarantees these sums indefinitely.
Bitcoin: No Deposit Insurance
Bitcoin held by Kraken carries no deposit insurance. Protection depends on the custody contract, asset segregation, the provider’s solvency and withdrawal conditions. A decline in the Bitcoin price is covered by no guarantee. Selling for euros does not automatically restore bank-style protection: funds must first return to a protected e-money balance or an eligible bank deposit.
“Selling for euros does not automatically restore bank-style protection.”
CryptoInfo.ch Editorial Team, structural analysis
Payward has not yet published terms for a future salary account combining these products. Still unclear are which entity would receive salaries, which would issue payment details, how funds would move, and the withdrawal rules between accounts. A shared custody brand under Kraken would not change these legal distinctions.
Saldo Bank: A Loan Book Under Pressure
Credit risk sits at the heart of the deal. Audited 2025 figures show gross loans of EUR 123.777 million at end-December 2025, against EUR 104.443 million at end-2024, an increase of 18.5%. Loans overdue by at least 90 days rose from EUR 1.615 million to EUR 3.514 million, a gain of roughly 118%, and their share of gross loans climbed from 1.55% to 2.84%. Overdue balances do not by themselves imply a final loss: borrowers may repay later, and collateral or recoveries reduce the ultimate hit.
| Indicator (EUR m unless stated) | End-2024 | End-2025 | June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross loans | 104.443 | 123.777 | 129.533 |
| Loss allowance | 9.008 | 10.287 | 11.452 |
| Allowance as % of loans | 8.62% | 8.31% | 8.84% |
| Loans 90+ days overdue | 1.615 | 3.514 | n.c. |
Saldo’s June 2026 report shows EUR 196.887 million in assets, EUR 169.414 million in retail deposits and EUR 129.533 million in gross loans. The capital adequacy ratio stands at 19% and the liquidity coverage ratio at 1,957.2%. “n.c.” means not disclosed in the available material. Liquidity and capital look solid; earnings are the pressure point.
In 2025, Saldo generated EUR 10.4 million of operating income before credit impairments, but a EUR 9.36 million charge absorbed about 90% of it, leaving annual net profit after tax of EUR 962,000. In the first half of 2026, pre-impairment operating income reached EUR 5.706 million, yet the EUR 6.251 million impairment charge produced a net loss of EUR 545,000. This half-year figure is not directly comparable with annual results.
The combined group would not make Saldo Bank the guarantor of debts owed by another Payward entity. Nor could a subsidiary borrow clients’ deposits outside the rules on bank exposures and related-party transactions. Each new loan must be assessed, priced and funded with regulatory capital, and the bank remains liable for its own commitments.
Custody Security and Practical Safeguards
Kraken cites several measures: hot and cold wallets, encryption of sensitive data, limited internal access, regular security testing, a bug bounty programme and a security lab. External auditors perform Proof of Reserves checks that let users verify custody during audits. Account protections include:
- two-factor authentication required for logins and withdrawals;
- account lockout and protection against changes to settings;
- a confirmation step when adding a new withdrawal address;
- granular permissions for API keys;
- no account recovery by phone or SMS, with chat and email support 24/7.
On 4 March 2026, Kraken Financial, the Wyoming bank owned by Kraken, received a master account from the Federal Reserve. This should enable certain direct Fedwire payments rather than relying solely on partner banks. The change concerns fiat payments, not insurance for crypto held on the exchange. Crypto on Kraken is covered neither by FDIC insurance nor by SIPC protection: after a platform failure or theft, no federal full-refund coverage applies. Protection depends on where assets are held and how the account is configured, not on the name of the app.
Kraken has faced incidents before. In June 2024, the company said it had fixed an “isolated bug” in its deposit and funding systems, stating that client assets were neither affected nor vulnerable before disclosure. Outages, maintenance and changes to terms remain risks, as do phishing, SIM swapping and password reuse.
“Transactions are fast and cannot be reversed.”
Kraken Support, scam protection guide
Kraken recommends a unique, strong password, two-factor authentication, long-term holdings in a hardware wallet, and keeping on the platform only the funds needed for trading. For a significant payment, the following steps reduce the risk of error:
- send a small test transfer first;
- check the network, address and memo before confirming;
- export the history to reconcile transfers, fees and tax cost basis.
The platform never asks for a password, 2FA code, Master Key or recovery phrase, and charges no fee to release funds. Fake websites, emails and ads remain the most frequent operational risk.
Public discussion on Quora shows the confusion between crypto custody and bank guarantees. One commenter argued that “not your keys, not your crypto” should still apply to mainstream solutions, while suggesting that a federal bank could offer deposit insurance. Another considered the risk of never recovering funds too high, citing hacking, insolvency and anti-money-laundering freezes. Such comments do not replace contract terms.
“very safe to stake your cryptocurrency”
Brian de Guzman, public comment on Quora
Outlook: A Unification Promise to Verify
Payward’s logic is clear: diversify revenue and retain clients beyond market cycles. The gap between a unified app and the legal reality of each product, however, remains the central question for users and regulators.
Base case: closing in 2027 and gradual loan growth with stabilising asset quality. Downside case: rising delinquencies and provisions weigh on profitability, already negative in the first half of 2026. Stress case: a loss of confidence or a failure that exposes the limits of protection for e-money balances and crypto assets. For now, the practical rule is to know which entity holds each euro and each Bitcoin.
Sources
- CryptoSlate, Kraken wants to be your bank
- TokenTax, Is Kraken safe
- Coin Bureau, Is Kraken safe
- Kraken Support, Protect yourself from scams
- Quora, Would you save your crypto to Kraken’s new bank
- Kraken, Funding options
Cet article est publié à titre informatif et éducatif. Il ne constitue en aucun cas un conseil en investissement. Faites vos propres recherches (DYOR) avant toute décision.
