Kroo, a UK-based startup aiming to revolutionize banking with a “social” approach, has secured £17.7 million in a Series A funding round led by tech entrepreneur Rudy Karson.
With plans for an early 2022 launch, Kroo seeks to alleviate the stress often associated with financial interactions among friends and family. The platform will provide a prepaid debit card along with tools designed to help users manage their personal and social finances seamlessly. This includes features for easily creating groups, tracking expenditures, and swiftly splitting and paying bills in a secure manner.
Kroo is committed to a socially responsible mission, vowing to allocate a portion of its profits to various social initiatives. The startup has initiated a tree-planting referral program, where for every successful referral, Kroo plants 20 trees, with the ambitious goal of nurturing a forest of one million trees.
Additionally, Kroo is in the process of obtaining a full banking license and has established a microservices-based, cloud-native technology platform. The funding will be instrumental in advancing its mobilization efforts, allowing the company to scale operations, expand its team across engineering, marketing, product development, compliance, and customer service, and enhance its product offerings and application.
Andrea de Gottardo, CEO of Kroo, expressed: “Our vision is to create the world’s foremost social bank, one that is dedicated to its customers and the community we inhabit.”