UK-based sustainable money app Zero is now available to download and has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube.
It follows an early adopter program which ran for two months and saw more than 5,000 people register for early access to the app.
UK consumers can apply for a free personal account and debit Mastercard in the app, which also includes ‘Greenscore’, a feature that helps users to understand the environmental impact of their spending on the Zero card.
Users can link to other accounts using the Open Banking feature in the app, to incorporate further spending insights.
Unlike some carbon calculators which are based on kilograms of carbon dioxide, Zero’s ‘Greenscore’ provides a numerical representation of a customer’s carbon footprint, and will eventually include other factors.
Zero has promised that a forthcoming release of the app will allow customers to make contributions to climate and “nature-positive solutions”.
Apple Pay and Google Pay will also launch on the app in the coming months.
Research conducted for Zero by Opinium revealed that 61% of people believe banks have a responsibility to make a positive contribution towards climate change and 59% of people want their bank to use their money in a way that is good for the environment.
In a statement, Zero said it is “pioneering” a new ownership model called ‘Community Share Option Scheme’, through which it aims to share 20% of the value of the business with customers. Early customers are being offered 400 free ‘Community Share Options’.
Richard Theo, co-founder and chief executive officer of Zero, said: “Our vision is a world where money is a force for the good of the planet, where money will never be used for anything that’s harming the planet, such as fossil fuel production or deforestation.
“We’re aiming to bridge the gap between digital banking and effortless sustainability that simply isn’t available right now.”
