Kroo, a UK digital bank authorized and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, is raising money on Crowdcube.
Kroo has listed a securities offering to raise £1 million at a pre-money valuation of £120 million. That funding target has already been topped, and as of today, Kroo has raised over £1.6 million backed by 2100 individual investors.
The Crowdcube funding round is part of a larger round of £14.6 million that has already been secured. Kroo states that terms are the same for the round. In total, Kroo has raised £72 million, according to the offering page.
Kroo describes itself as a “Bank with a conscience.” Kroo says its mission is to be a financial service firm that is “truly loved and trusted” by their customers.
Kroo’s current account currently generates 4.35% interest with balances up to £500,000. The no-fee digital bank offers overdraft protection by invitation. Kroo also offers loans to selected customers on an invitation basis as well.
Since the digital bank’s launch it reports over 145,000 current accounts and approximately £765 million in deposits.
A recent report by UKTN quoted Kroo founder and CEO Andrea De Gottardo explaining they are not doing the securities offering on Crowdcube to raise money but to allow customers and other retail investors to participate in their journey.
“A lot of our customers have been asking for quite some time since our launch, whether they could invest in Kroo. It’s mostly to enable people to join us on the journey, to create a sense of community rather than purely for the money raised there,” said Gottardo.
He anticipates a future where the majority of the shares are held by smaller investors.
It is an interesting strategy as shareholders tend to be committed to the success of the firm and big ambassadors promoting the services. And as the banking industry, its been an industry long plagued by poor customer service and meandering management more focused on hidden fees than good customer service.
Kroo says it has some new services in the pipeline, including new credit products.
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