作为加密货币交易所Kraken的母公司，Payward计划收购萨尔多银行背后的控股公司，从而让这家数字资产企业获得在立陶宛的银行经营许可。
Inc., the parent of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is set to acquire the holding company behind Saldo Bank UAB, providing the digital-asset firm with a banking license in Lithuania.
这家总部位于怀俄明州夏延的公司已与萨尔多银行的芬兰母公司萨尔多金融公司签署了正式收购协议。据Payward周三发布的公告，该银行已在立陶宛获得经营许可，获准在五个欧洲市场开展业务。
The Cheyenne, Wyoming-based company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish owner of Saldo Bank. The bank is licensed in Lithuania and authorized to operate across five European markets, Payward said in a statement on Wednesday.
此次收购标志着Payward拓展银行业务版图的又一重要举措——今年3月该公司已成功获得美国联邦储备系统颁发的专项主账户许可。该公告也印证了此前彭博社关于此次收购的报道。
The deal marks the further expansion of Payward’s banking ambitions, having acquired a limited-purpose master account with the Federal Reserve in March. The announcement confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report on the upcoming acquisition.
Payward联席首席执行官阿琼·塞蒂在公告中表示：“布局银行业务并非我们新近确立的目标，而是我们一步步通过获取各类牌照、开拓各个市场逐步实现的规划。拥有一家受欧盟监管的银行，能让我们以正规金融机构的标准为欧洲客户提供服务：让他们能在一个平台上存放资产、自由转账并开展各类金融活动。”此次收购完成后，Payward有望为欧洲客户提供存款利息服务、各类贷款产品以及银行服务外包方案，包括发卡服务和企业贷款。目前交易的具体条款尚未披露，预计将于2027年完成，仍需通过相关监管审批。
“Payward Banking is not a new ambition — it is a business we have been building license by license, market by market,” Arjun Sethi, Payward’s co-chief executive officer, said in the statement. “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.”The acquisition is expected to enable Payward to offer interest on deposits, lending products, and banking-as-a-service capabilities to clients in Europe, including card issuance, and business loans. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in 2027 and remains subject to regulatory approval, were not disclosed.