Loqbox partner with new, social bank, Kroo

Loqbox have today announced they have partnered with Kroo in a bid to give UK customers more options to become financially included, for free.

Financial exclusion is a major problem globally, with billions of people unable to access basic financial services. For many, this is a catch-22 because if they’ve never had credit they can’t build a credit history. The consequence is that many turn to expensive sub-prime lenders and can succumb to a spiral of debt. While as many as 75% of applications for these cards are rejected, those who are successful still need to avoid the many pitfalls associated with high cost credit products.

This is where Loqbox comes in, giving consumers the best chance to build a credit score and eventually be able to access credit.

Signing up to Loqbox Save puts the power back in the consumer’s hands when it comes to building credit. Members decide the amount they can afford to save in a year (from £20 minimum monthly payments to £200 maximum) which is locked away in a Loqbox. They pay off their digital token over 12 months, building a credit score as they go, whilst saving towards their desired target.

Once the year is up, the money saved is released into one of Loqbox’s partner banks, completely free to Loqbox members. Kroo is the latest partner to join forces with Loqbox.

Kroo is building a powerful new UK bank to allow customers to easily participate in shared financial activity with each other and champion social causes that impact their world. Kroo has been built on a state-of-the-art agile technology platform that will provide a safe, secure and intuitively designed current account, from which a customer can navigate their financial lives.

Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Loqbox Gregor Mowat commented:

“When we learned about the launch of Kroo, we were really excited about their vision and goals which aligned with ours perfectly. Both Loqbox and Kroo want to revolutionise people’s relationships with their money and we hope our members will be as excited as we are to have this additional choice at the end of their Loqbox Save journey”.

Kroo has recently raised £17.7m in its Series A funding round. The raise will support their mobilisation effort, including building a market-leading current account and overdraft, growing the team at Kroo and securing a full UK banking licence.

Andrea De Gottardo, CEO of Kroo said:

“We have been watching Loqbox’s exciting developments as we have built Kroo and saw this partnership as a real opportunity to genuinely make a difference to people’s financial lives. Our vision has always been to change the relationship people have with money for good, and we firmly believe this new option for Loqbox Save customers will help customers get more from their money, and spend more time doing what’s important in their lives”.

Kroo expects to launch in early 2022. In the meantime, Kroo will test its concept through a prepaid card offering, issued under the e-money licence of PayrNet Ltd.

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