UK digital bank, Kroo, announces receipt of full UK banking licence
UK Digital Bank Kroo is delighted to announce they have been granted their full banking licence by the Bank of England. Kroo is only one of 2 banks to have been granted a banking licence with a personal current account since August 2016. Kroo launched its prepaid offering using state-of-the-art tech to ensure a fully mobile experience in February 2019 and has built a customer base of 23,000. In the coming months Kroo will offer its existing customers the opportunity to migrate to Kroo’s new personal current account for free.
Kroo completed a wide range of prerequisites in order to obtain its licence including:
- Demonstrating robustness of its processes and systems
- Compliance and risk management capabilities
- A viable business model
- Fit and proper directors and managers
- Adequate financial resources
Kroo is now a fully licensed UK bank and will offer its customers an FSCS protected personal current account once it launches in the coming months. Over the past number of years, a large number of fintechs have launched, however, very few have been granted banking licences by the Bank of England.
This banking licence means that Kroo:
- Can offer depositors protection via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000
- Can provide its customers with overdrafts, loans and savings products
- Follows stringent banking regulations and very high security standards
Kroo was founded in 2016 when two creative minds came together with a vision to change the relationship people have with money for good. Kroo has been built to positively impact its customers, their communities and the environment. They have engaged in a tree planting scheme with a mission to plant one million trees and have a board-level social conscious committee. In the future, Kroo plans to contribute 5% of its sustainable profits to the social causes its customer community care about most.
Following the announcement, Kroo CEO Andrea De Gottardo, said “We are delighted to announce that Kroo has received its full UK banking licence. This represents a key milestone in our mission to create a bank that truly connects people financially, enables them to be financially better off and plays its part in making a positive impact on the world. The bar to be granted a UK banking licence is exceptionally high and I am incredibly proud of the team and our work in achieving this. This is one of the elements that will set us apart from most of our competitors in the FinTech industry, alongside our commitment to deliver innovative features and champion values our customers can identify with.”.
