Kroo Bank

Kroo is an app-based UK bank that offers one product to consumers: a personal current account. There is no joint account, no savings account and no business account, and Kroo states plainly that it offers only personal current accounts¹. The account comes with a debit card, a Groups feature for sharing expenses with family and friends, and no Kroo fee for using the card abroad, where Visa's real-time exchange rate is passed straight through¹.

The thing most people need to know before moving is that Kroo is not part of the Current Account Switch Service. Kroo says so directly: "Kroo isn't part of the Current Account Switching Service"². Instead it runs its own switching service, which works to a different timetable and has its own conditions, including that the account being moved in must not be a joint account and must be held in pounds².

Kroo is authorised as a bank by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA³. It appears on the Bank of England's list of banks incorporated in the UK authorised to accept deposits, and its FCA firm registration number is 953772⁴.

Kroo's personal current account: what it offers

The account is called the Personal Current Account, and it is the only account Kroo sells¹. It is a day-to-day account in the ordinary sense: it receives wages and benefits, pays bills, supports Direct Debits and standing orders, and comes with a debit card⁸. Kroo's own key information document lists the account name as Personal Current Account⁷.

Two features stand out. The first is Groups, which Kroo describes as a feature that lets you add, share and settle expenses with family and friends¹. The second is how the card behaves abroad. Kroo states that it does not charge any fees for using the Kroo debit card abroad, and that it passes Visa's real-time exchange rate directly to the customer with no hidden fees¹. Its key information document records no fee for a debit card payment in a foreign currency, and no ATM withdrawal fees abroad at any time¹.

What the account does not do matters just as much. Kroo does not support sending international payments, and it does not support receiving payments that originate from outside the UK¹. Its key information document records sending money outside the UK as "Service not available"⁹. Cheque cancellation is also listed as not available⁹.

On charges, Kroo's fee documents record no charge for sending money within the UK by Faster Payments, no charge for a debit card payment in pounds, and no charge for refusing a payment because of a lack of funds⁹. For today's figures, the account's own fee page is the place to check⁸.

If you are weighing up an app-based account against a branch-based one, our guide to current accounts sets out how the different types compare, and the banks directory lists who offers what.

Paying with Apple Pay and Google Pay

Kroo supports both Apple Pay and Google Pay, and it does not charge for either. Kroo states: "We don't charge you when you use Apple Pay" and "We don't charge you when you use Google Pay"¹⁰.

Setting either up takes one of two routes. You can turn the wallet on inside the Kroo app, or you can add the Kroo card directly to your Apple Wallet or Google Wallet¹⁰. To stop using either, you remove the card in the wallet app¹⁰. The Apple Pay terms sit alongside your main Kroo account agreement rather than replacing it¹⁰.

This is now the norm rather than the exception. Nearly all banks, building societies, credit card companies and prepaid card providers in the UK support both Apple Pay and Google Wallet¹². Apple Pay works on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac, for in-app purchases and on the web, and is accepted wherever the Apple Pay logo or contactless symbol appears¹³.

Banking with Kroo through the app and online

Kroo is an app-first bank. The app is where you check your balance, send payments and manage the Groups feature, and Kroo describes the app as a free service for sharing information about financial transactions informally with one or more users through a group³. Banking apps of this kind are typically downloaded from the Google Play Store for Android devices or the App Store for Apple devices¹⁴.

Opening an account is done through an application form, which can be completed online, in person or by phone depending on the provider¹⁵. Kroo's own route is online, through its website and app¹.

If you need help with accessibility or prefer to manage money in other ways, there is support available. Scope publishes guidance on managing your own money, and Age UK covers online banking for people less familiar with apps¹⁴. Our guide to everyday money tasks walks through the common ones step by step.

Switching to Kroo is not part of the Current Account Switching Service

This is the single most important thing to understand before moving an account to Kroo. The Current Account Switch Service is a free service that automatically switches a current account from one bank or building society to another, and most banks have agreed to use it, which means a switch should take just seven working days¹⁷. It transfers Direct Debits and standing orders, moves your balance, redirects incoming payments such as benefits or salaries, and closes your old account¹⁵.

Kroo is not in it. Kroo states: "Kroo isn't part of the Current Account Switching Service", and its product page confirms the service is not offered yet, with plans to introduce it in the future¹.

That has practical consequences. The seven working day guarantee does not apply, and the automatic redirection of payments made to your old account does not apply either. Kroo's own service does the same job in a different way and on a different timetable, set out below.

How Kroo's own switching service works, step by step

Kroo's service runs on a Switch Mandate, a form you complete to authorise the move². The steps and timings are set out in Kroo's own guidance:

1. You complete a Switch Mandate².
2. Kroo sends the mandate to your existing current account provider within 2 working days of you submitting it².
3. Your existing provider must send Kroo a list and all relevant information about the eligible payments you want to switch within 5 working days of Kroo's request².
4. Kroo sets up your payments on your Kroo account within 5 working days of receiving that information².
5. The switch date must be at least 13 working days after Kroo receives your fully completed Switch Mandate².

The payments Kroo will move include recurring incoming credit transfers, such as your salary, received in the previous 13 months². That is the answer to how long a salary switch takes: it is not the seven working days of the standard service, but a sequence of 2, 5 and 5 working day stages with a minimum 13 working day gap before the switch date².

Which accounts and payments can be switched into Kroo

Kroo's service has three conditions, and an account has to meet all of them²:

• The account being switched must not be a joint account².
• The account must be held in the same currency, pounds only².
• The account must be held with another UK bank or building society².

The currency rule is absolute: switches can only take place between accounts in the same currency, for example pounds to pounds². Combined with Kroo's position on international payments, that rules out moving a foreign currency account in¹.

The joint account rule is where Kroo differs most sharply from the mainstream. The Current Account Switch Service does handle joint accounts, provided you are switching to another joint account and all account holders agree, and you can also switch a sole account to a joint account elsewhere²⁰. Kroo's service does not accept joint accounts at all².

Being overdrawn is not a barrier to switching in general. You can switch using the Current Account Switch Service even if you are overdrawn²¹. Our guide to overdrafts explains how they work and what they cost.

Moving your account away from Kroo

Leaving works in the same way as joining, in reverse. Kroo states that within 5 working days it will send your payment details to your new bank².

If you are moving to a bank that is part of the Current Account Switch Service, that bank can run the switch for you, including transferring Direct Debits and standing orders, moving your balance, redirecting incoming payments and closing your Kroo account¹⁵. If you are moving to another bank outside the service, you arrange the move yourself.

Doing it yourself means opening the new account before closing the old one, cancelling or moving standing orders and Direct Debits, returning unused cheques and cards cut into pieces, and leaving enough money to cover uncleared cheques if you are transferring a balance²². If you have nominated Kroo as the account for receiving money from other providers, remember to update those details too; NS&I, for example, lets you unlink bank details through its nominated accounts section²³.

Complaints and the Financial Ombudsman Service

Start with Kroo. Its terms say you can contact it for any reason, including complaints, by email at help@kroo.com or by writing to Kroo Bank Ltd, 20 Farringdon St, London, EC4A 4AB, UK³.

If you are not satisfied with how Kroo handles the complaint, you can take it further. Kroo states: "If you're dissatisfied with how we handle your complaint, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service for further assistance"².

The Financial Ombudsman Service is free to consumers and covers banking and payment services including current accounts, savings accounts, Direct Debits, money transfers, electronic payment platforms, cheques and banker's drafts²⁴. You start a complaint by filling in its complaint form²⁵. The scale of the service is significant: in the year from 9 July 2019 to 8 July 2020 it recorded 91,430 banking complaints from within the UK²⁷.

How your money is protected at Kroo

Kroo is authorised as a bank by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA³. It appears on the Bank of England's list of banks incorporated in the UK authorised to accept deposits, with FCA firm registration number 953772⁴. The company is registered in England and Wales under company number 10359002, was incorporated on 5 September 2016, and its registered office is 20 Farringdon St, London, EC4A 4AB³. Its previous names were Kroo Ltd and Kroo Bank Limited⁴.

Because it is a UK-authorised bank, deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the same scheme that protects money in any UK bank²⁹. That protection is a limit per person per banking licence, so if you hold money with other brands sharing Kroo's licence, the total counts towards one limit rather than one each.

Protection stops at the deposit. If you are paying someone and something goes wrong, the route you paid by decides what you can do. Paying by credit card for something over £100, by debit card or by PayPal gives you more protection than a bank transfer⁶. Push payment scams are the sharp edge of this: your money is not protected unless you pay by credit card or Direct Debit³⁰.

Practical habits reduce the risk. Check your bank statements regularly for transactions you do not recognise, and keep your chequebook safe, telling your bank about anything missing³¹. Check the online banking security options your bank provides. Our guides to scams and fraud and consumer protection cover the rules and the warning signs in more detail.