Adro, a New York-based company making financial services more accessible for international students and workers, has raised a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round led by Era, with participation from Ex Nihilo Ventures and the Cornell Tech Syndicate.
With no Social Security Number and limited U.S. credit history, international students and workers struggle to access basic banking upon arrival. Led by Amarildo Gjondrekaj (formerly of Mastercard, Harness), Sara Schmitt (Amazon, Epic) and Kevin DeArmond (Uber, Titan) [photo], Adro offers newcomers an easy on-ramp to move money, spend and save, right when they land.
“Once in the U.S., internationals face significant barriers to starting their lives in a new country, despite having cash available. It can take weeks to open the accounts they need, like getting a debit card and credit card. This makes it that much harder to find an apartment, rent a car and pay for living expenses,” said Amarildo Gjondrekaj, CEO and Co-founder at Adro. “We’re giving students the financial tools they need to get settled in, and making it accessible the moment they get off the plane.”
With a planned launch for later this year, Adro will offer checking and savings accounts, as well as debit and credit cards. Adro will also provide partial reimbursement on the costs associated with international money transfers, and allow customers to start building credit from the day they arrive in the U.S.
Through its partnerships with university student services, international student offices and academic departments, Adro provides comprehensive educational resources to help students improve financial literacy and avoid scams.
“In increasing access to banking services for a hugely underserved market, Adro has the potential to make a real impact on people’s lives,” said Jasper Lau, CEO at Era. “When financial literacy increases, everyone wins. We look forward to supporting Adro as they scale.”
“We believe that having equitable access to financial services can help newcomers find stability and thrive. We’re proud to be an early investor of Adro.” said Kevin Hannan, Chief Investment Officer at Ex Nihilo Ventures.
Adro will use the funding to scale its engineering team and accelerate development of the platform.
