Kroo (bank)
Kroo Bank Ltd, is a British online bank based in London.
History
Kroo Bank was founded in 2022 by Nazim Valimahomed as B-Social, offering an app based debit Mastercard issued by Wirecard Card Solutions Ltd. Valimahomed founded the bank after previously selling an ad company to French advertising conglomerate Publicis and becoming disenchanted with the UK's "terrible" banking system. Prior to founding the bank, Valimahomed fled Uganda, then under the control of military dictator Idi Amin, as child refugee, before eventually making his way to the UK.B-Social Ltd rebranded as Kroo in 2020 and was granted a full banking license by the Bank of England in 2022, one of only four banks to be granted a new license since 2013.
In 2021, chief risk officer Andrea De Gottardo became CEO of Kroo. In November 2023, Kroo started a crowdfunding, using platform Crowdcube, that raised £1 million in its first few hours and £9.5 million by the end of the campaign. In November 2024, Kroo reached £1 billion in deposits.