diff --git a/packages/taler-wallet-core/src/host-impl.node.ts b/packages/taler-wallet-core/src/host-impl.node.ts
index ceda7243f..6a4f21d79 100644
--- a/packages/taler-wallet-core/src/host-impl.node.ts
+++ b/packages/taler-wallet-core/src/host-impl.node.ts
@@ -148,9 +148,11 @@ export async function createNativeWalletHost2(
 
   let dbResp: MakeDbResult;
 
-  if (!args.persistentStoragePath || args.persistentStoragePath.endsWith(".json")) {
+  if (args.persistentStoragePath &&args.persistentStoragePath.endsWith(".json")) {
+    logger.info("using legacy file-based DB backend");
     dbResp = await makeFileDb(args);
   } else {
+    logger.info("using sqlite3 DB backend");
     dbResp = await makeSqliteDb(args);
   }