Kroo, a new UK digital challenger bank, has bagged a full banking licence from the Bank of England, less than a month after it secured £26mln funding.
Earlier this month, the start-up completed its Series B fundraising to support the launch of its new current accounts as soon as this summer.
Currently, with around 23,000 customers using its pre-paid debit cards, the financial services firm said it is one of only two banks to have been granted a banking licence with a personal current account since August 2016.
And Kroo said it is the first full banking licence to be granted for personal current bank accounts by the Bank of England since February last year.
Formerly known as B-Social, Kroo launched its prepaid mobile offering in February 2019 and having now built a small customer base, will offer existing customers a free migration to a current account.
The award of a banking licence allows it to offer depositors protection via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000, as well as overdrafts, loans, and savings products, even while following strict regulations.
On receipt of the full UK banking licence, Kroo chief executive Andrea De Gottardo said, "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."
Before Kroo, De Gottardo was head of risk appetite portfolio decisioning at NatWest.
The company was founded in 2016 in London by Nazim Valimahomed, former chair of media agency Publicis in Russia, currently chief product and design officer, and Moscow media agency veteran Tim Brown, who is chief creative officer.