About Kroo (B-SOCIAL)
It is a UK fintech company based in London. This startup company was formed in 2016 with the sole purpose of building a novel bank that takes care of your financial aspects between you and your friends. Simply put, Kroo aims to be a social bank.
True to this, their mantra is “Where friends and money meet”. The idea is to have a mobile app that allows friends and families to share expenses.
The app allows you to create groups with friends or family. Then, when it comes time to pay the bill, you can select how to share it.
This ‘social bank’ has managed to get a total of $14.2M over three rounds of funding. The latest round of funding saw the company net £7.8M in seed money. The leading investor who has provided the bulk of the financing is Rudy Karsan.
As of mid-2022, Kroo has a customer base totaling 15 000. So far, the customers have spent close to £1M with 2500 groups created to share costs. From the many review sites, customers rate this social finance app highly. There is a general consensus that the app is impressive, with ratings starting from 4.1 stars.
Can I use Kroo for International Bank Transfers?
Kroo customers essentially get the Kroo card, a MasterCard debit card. The card is offered in conjunction with PayrNet who are licensed in the UK.
However, transfers from the Kroo account are only within the United Kingdom. Therefore, it is not possible to use the Kroo app to transfer funds internationally. Holders of Kroo accounts can only accept GBP transfers. These transfers have to be from banks in the UK.
There are money remittance companies that offer international funds transfer to and from the UK. Some of them include XE and World Remit.
Are there transfer limits?
Kroo does not support transfers internationally. However, within the UK, customers can transact up to £2,000 with a maximum of 5 transactions daily.
If you wish to transfer or receive money from abroad with significant transfer limits, consider using services like XE. For instance, there are no transfer limits for sending money from the UK to Australia.
Can I use a Kroo debit card when traveling abroad?
With Mastercard as the payment processor, the Kroo debit card allows customers to use their card abroad. Kroo does not charge any fees for transactions overseas. Clients can transact and spend in over 140 currencies. However, customers may experience charges from the ATM provider.
While abroad, the daily limit for the ATM withdrawal is £250. There are no monthly limits.
But still, customers should note that they are some countries in which they cannot use their debit card. Some of the notable ones left out are China, Brazil, Kenya, and Pakistan.
Exchange Rates and Fees.
Exchange Rate: Card payments while overseas are converted to GBP. The transactions use the Mastercard exchange rate.
To get the best exchange rate, clients can use services like WorldRemit, Wise, XE, Currencyfair, Key Currency, Instarem and TorFX for transfers abroad.
Transfer fees: Kroo does not provide international money transfers. Customers can use XE, which does not charge fees at all for transfers.
How do Kroo fees compare to a money service provider
The Kroo app offers transfers within the UK. International transfers are not part of the service portfolio.
On the other hand, you can easily send and receive money from other money transfer services worldwide. Some companies transfer your funds free of charge. Consider using remittance companies like XE.
Kroo Pros and Cons
As a socially-based fintech company, Kroo has some of its advantages. However, when it comes to international money transfers, the benefits are extremely limited. Here is an analysis of what we found.
Pros
Cons
Kroo Additional Products
Kroo pride itself on making money social. Some of the standout products offered include:
Splitting and tracking group expenses.
Instant payments – Receive and pay expenses owed to family and friends. This is coupled with instant smart notifications.
Summary
B-social rebranded to Kroo after the third round of funding. The company does not offer international money transfers at the moment. However, they are looking to add this service to their portfolio in the future.
When traveling abroad, Kroo customers have the option of using the Kroo debit card. Mastercard supports the card; therefore, customers can withdraw money in 140 countries globally.
