Adro Aims to Close the Banking Gap for International Students in the U.S.

For many of the one million international students who arrive in the United States each year, the hardest part of settling in isn't navigating a new campus, but accessing the country’s most basic financial tools. A new fintech startup, Adro, is changing all that  — offering a streamlined, digital-first fintech platform built specifically for international students and workers navigating life on a visa.

Against the backdrop of increasingly stringent immigration policies and rising visa revocations, Adro’s founders argue that the U.S. banking system remains stubbornly inaccessible to newcomers, particularly those without a Social Security number or permanent address. While U.S. institutions require layers of identity verification, many international students, despite being exhaustively vetted by the government, are locked out before they even land.

“International students are among the most prequalified people entering the U.S. — they’ve proven their finances, their education, their purpose,” said Amarildo Gjondrekaj, founder of Adro. “But when they get here, none of that translates. They’re invisible to the banks.”

Gjondrekaj, along with co-founders Kevin DeArmond (CTO) and Sara Schmitt (COO), created Adro to bridge that divide, offering a passport-based, fully remote onboarding experience for over 75 visa types, with zero need for in-person branch visits or SSNs to open an account. The idea was born in Gjondrekaj’s own classroom at Cornell, where he saw international students struggling to open bank accounts, transfer money, or build credit history — often for months.

Adro’s platform enables users to:

• Open an account from abroad before arriving in the U.S.
• Add funds pre-arrival, reducing reliance on foreign bank cards
• Order a U.S. debit card for immediate use upon arrival
• Apply for a credit card that builds U.S. credit history, without the risk of overspending (limits are tied to the user’s available balance)

“There’s an institutional blind spot in U.S. banking,” said Gjondrekaj. “You can be fully approved by the Department of Homeland Security, yet still walk into a bank and get told no.”

Adro’s broader vision is both practical and political. It has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding, with support from New York State’s venture arm and Jim Wiseman, president of Margaritaville Development. It now serves users from over 110 countries, including students attending 300 US colleges and universities.

Unlike many early-stage fintech startups, Adro was built with compliance at its core. The team partnered with Synctera and Stearns Bank N.A. to ensure a secure, regulated financial infrastructure. The company enforces rigorous data protections, including multi-factor authentication, geolocation-based monitoring, and regular security audits.

“We launched our first cards in under 90 days,” said Schmitt. “But we never cut corners — we built trust and compliance into every decision.”

Adro is already embedding itself in policy and advocacy spaces, participating in New York Fintech Week, Immigration Hackathons, and collaborating with nonprofits like the International Rescue Committee to support refugee and migrant populations.

Looking ahead, Adro plans to expand into business banking for international entrepreneurs, enabling access to USD checking accounts without requiring relocation to the U.S.— a shift that could redefine how global talent engages with the American economy. For more information, please visit https://www.joinadro.com/.