Switch to Aspiration, a climate friendly bank
Most major banks fund fossil fuels. Moving your money to an institution that doesn’t is key to making the transition to clean energy.
Right now, your savings are probably funding fossil fuels. Every year, banks loan billions (nearly trillions) of dollars to fossil fuel companies to finance pipelines, oil wells, and coal plants. It's messed up and shocking—they are using your money to destroy the planet.
Most major banks finance fossil fuels, but not every bank finances fossil fuels. You can search for your bank on websites like BankTrack to see how it invests your money. The good news is that switching to a climate friendly bank doesn’t cost any money, the interest rates and perks are just as good, and their digital products are way better than established banks.
More about Aspiration
Aspiration
Aspiration has committed 100% to "Clean Money," meaning they won't ever fund fossil fuels. They're also a certified B Corporation, and donate 1% of their revenue to environmental groups. Most of us at Wren have been using Aspiration for a while now and highly recommend it. Besides being good for the planet, their app is 10x easier to use than those of big banks.
Signing up for a new bank might seem intimidating, but the way we switched to Aspiration made it feel easy. We started by making an account and depositing $100 just to check it. Then, we transferred more money in and tried out their debit card with Apple Pay. Once we felt good about it, we transferred more money over and used it as our main savings account and main debit card. Today, we all still have our Chase or Bank of America accounts when we need any services that Aspiration doesn’t offer, but we rely on them less and less.
Other great options
Ando Money | Zero fees
Ando is largely similar to Aspiration, except you’ll be able to earn interest on your savings without paying for a Premium account ($7 for Aspiration Plus). We also liked how transparent they are with how they’re spending your money.
Amalgamated Bank | Zero fees
Amalgamated is more established as a banking institution than both Ando and Aspiration, and has historically been much more socially and environmentally responsible than other established banks. However, their mobile banking experience is not as good as Aspiration or Ando’s.
Additional reading
Guide · Stop the Money Pipeline
Align your money with your values: a guide to find fossil free banking options
News Article · CNBC
60 largest banks in the world have invested $3.8 trillion in fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement