Today, most people want to live a socially conscious lifestyle and minimize their impact on the world. While companies are addressing this need by embracing sustainable farming and sourcing recycled materials, many financial services firms only provide account holders with a secure place to store funds.
Aspiration is a financial firm with a conscience, that puts customers first. They guarantee 100% of deposits will not be used to fund companies involved in fossil fuel refinement, private prisons, and firearms companies.
Their core offering is the Spend & Save account which is a cash management account that provides up to 1.00% APY on deposits, unlimited fee-free withdrawals at over 55,000 Allpoint ATMs, and a zero-fee policy that covers overdrafts, check deposits, inactive accounts, and debit cards.
What really sets Aspiration apart from traditional financial firms, however, is that they are built on a foundation of fairness. They use a “pay what is fair” model for monthly fees, allowing account holders to set their monthly account fee, even if it is $0. If a user chooses to pay a monthly fee, Aspiration donates 10% to charity.
Account-holders also gain access to the Conscience Coalition™ cashback program which offers up to 10% cash back at socially responsible companies such as Toms, Warby Parker, Reformation, and Arcadia Power.
Aspiration also makes it easy for account holders to have a significant positive impact on the world. For example, debit card users can opt-in to the “Plant Your Change” feature that rounds up purchases to the nearest dollar. Aspiration uses the difference to fund reforestation efforts across the globe.
To make it easier for account holders to quantify their impact on the world, Aspiration created their Aspiration Impact Measurement (AIM) feature. It is a score assigned to companies based on how they treat people and the planet. A few of the metrics used in its calculations include CO2 emissions, renewable energy use, employee benefits, and diversity.
Consumers can use AIM scores to make informed decisions on where they spend money. Similarly, Aspiration account holders are assigned a personal impact score based on their purchasing patterns.
You can open an Aspiration Spend & Save account with only a $10 deposit. You can find out more here.