Kroo bank keeps swathe of angry customers waiting to open accounts

The new digital bank Kroo has had a slew of angry customers wait weeks for their payment account applications to be approved.

The app-only bank, which launched its flagship checking account last December, has come under fire from disgruntled customers on social media.

Many claim to have waited weeks for their bank account application to be approved, while others complain of being ignored for days through the bank’s web chat customer service system.

One customer wrote on Twitter: ‘@KrooBank applying for almost a month and still no response. Chatbox is almost useless.’

Another reiterated Kroo’s promise to offer “online banking at your fingertips” before saying “two weeks later and countless one-way calls and still nothing…”

A third person tweeted: ‘@KrooBank what is this bank about? Requested 2 weeks ago, received a copy of passport and proof of address and then it is quiet. No replies to web chat or emails. Who runs this bank?’

Although Kroo was founded in 2016, last year it obtained its full UK banking license and launched its flagship bank account.

It describes itself as a “socially conscious digital bank” and says it is on a mission to change the banking industry for the better.

Kroo pledges to plant two trees for every account opened with a goal of planting one million trees by the end of 2023.

After the launch last December, the CEO, Andrea De Gottardo, said it was “sincerely” [has its] backs of customers’ and wants to ‘change banking for the better’.

The bank currently offers some tempting benefits. Not least the 3.03 per cent credit rate up to £85,000 and free spending when using the card abroad.

It is these benefits that have attracted a wave of applications and are leading to the backlog.

Angela Wakelin, chief operating officer at Kroo, said: “After we announced our current account rate hike to 3.03 percent, we saw tremendous demand for our current account.

While a significant number of these applications are processed automatically, with most accounts being opened within minutes, some applications require further review and are therefore taking longer.

“This has created a queue in applications and customer chats that we handle as quickly as possible.”

Ethical bank: Kroo’s CEO, Andrea De Gottardo, says the bank “is champions of values ​​that its customers can relate to”

The bank says only about 25 percent of total applications are still being processed.

Kroo claims the majority — about 70 percent — of applications to open its checking account are automatically approved and processed in minutes, with cards arriving in two or three days.

It says that in the meantime, customers can use their virtual card through Apple or Google Pay and transfer money directly to and from the account.

A spokesperson for Kroo said: ‘Kroo apologizes for the initial delays some people have experienced and is working hard to rectify this.

“We have hired additional staff and are working hard to reduce approval times and manage demand.

“We are making good progress with the application queue and expect to be back within three to five days by the end of this week within the usual timeframes for new applications.

“We are also making good progress with our customer chat feature and expect to be back within normal timeframes for “live” chats next week.”