Financial security is key to our overall wellbeing, and yet, for many people, managing money can feel complex and challenging. In the face of a traditional banking landscape of complicated products and high fees, many struggle to make the right financial decisions. At Kroo Bank, we’re on a mission to change that. By creating a straightforward, transparent banking experience, we help people take control of their finances and improve their relationship with their money.
Turning spending patterns into powerful location-based insights
That straightforward experience starts with the fundamentals, including giving customers an accurate, immediate understanding of their spending. However, we previously faced challenges in presenting transaction data in a simple, easy-to-understand way.
When a payment is processed, the raw merchant information can be unclear. The third-party tool we previously used to translate this raw data delivered inconsistent results, leading to inaccurate information appearing in the app. For example, merchant names and logos didn't consistently match the actual place of purchase.
Users can quickly search for recent transactions in the app.
This lack of clarity wasn’t just inconvenient, it caused confusion. Customers would look at unfamiliar or inaccurate merchant information and worry it was a transaction they didn't make, or even a potential fraud. Not only did these false positives raise customer anxiety, but resolving them was also time consuming. Our support team would spend up to 10 or 15 minutes per case, manually confirming details with the customer.
Keen to give our customers clarity, and build trust to grow our user base, we searched for a specialist solution that could integrate rich, real-world data and deliver an accurate and reliable transaction experience from the outset.
We evaluated a number of solutions and ran a proof of concept to compare their performance. The transaction enrichment API provided by Snowdrop Solutions came out on top. Built on Google Maps Platform, it successfully identified transactions more often than any other provider we tested.
Users can view individual transaction data directy on the map for even more peace of mind.
We realized that by using the extensive global database of places on Google Maps Platform, Snowdrop’s solution would dramatically improve our matching score. The implementation was quick and straight forward, and within seven weeks we had our first pilot version to begin transforming inconsistent payment descriptions into clear transaction insights for a small sample of users.
Bringing transactions to life with Google Maps Platform
Today, when a customer uses their Kroo card, our system sends the transaction data to Snowdrop. Its API instantly cleans up the data, so that when a customer opens the app, they see a clean merchant name and an easily recognizable logo in their transaction list. This quick clarity provides immediate confirmation of their spending.
For further certainty, especially with less-recognized or international transactions, the customer can tap to a map view showing the merchant's precise location. To achieve this, Snowdrop’s transaction enrichment API takes the raw transaction information and uses the Google Maps Platform Places API to find the exact merchant and retrieve its details. The Geocoding API then converts that address into the precise coordinates to display the location on the map.
This visual confirmation enables customers to quickly recognize transactions, particularly those from smaller, independent shops. Seeing the transaction mapped to a physical location helps eliminate confusion, providing the clear, trustworthy experience customers expect.
Users can click on the map to view transaction-level details.
Empowering customers with clarity and confidence
By giving our customers accurate transaction data and putting spending into a clear, visual context, we’ve seen a marked improvement in customer confidence. Since implementing this solution, we’ve significantly reduced related customer support inquiries, freeing our support team to focus on genuine customer needs.
We’ve also seen a 12% reduction in clicks from the transaction list view to the detail view within the first three months of implementation. This indicates that customers can now recognise their transactions more easily at a glance, thanks to the addition of clean logos and merchant names. For those who wish to explore further, the detailed view still provides useful payment information and displays the purchase location through Google Maps, where users can click to view the full address.
This rich, location-based experience is about more than just data — it’s about improving our customers' financial health. The more clarity a customer has about where their money is going, the better they’re equipped to budget, manage their spending, and ultimately achieve their financial goals.
As we grow, we’re continuing to integrate location-based intelligence into more of our products and services, giving customers even more control over their finances. For instance, we’re exploring the use of Snowdrop and Google Maps Platform to help customers manage their spending while they’re abroad.
With the accuracy, global coverage, and reliability of the Snowdrop solution and Google Maps Platform, we have the foundation to give our customers the actionable financial clarity and confidence they need. As a result, we’re enhancing customers’ trust in our bank, and putting them on the path to financial security.
