Zero, the Cardiff-based B Corp Certified sustainable money app, has launched widely under e-Money regulations to provide a debit card, free personal current account, and app for climate-conscious consumers.
This follows an early adopter phase which lasted two months, in which more than 5,000 people registered for early access.
Zero is also available for investment on Crowdcube until 14 February.
Cofounder Richard Theo is a Welsh serial entrepreneur who founded Wealthify, ActiveQuote and Fintech Wales. Zero raised its seed funding round in 2023 from notable investors including the Development Bank of Wales.
Partnering with a range of suppliers to bring the product to market, including Mastercard, Transact Payments, Integrated Finance, Marqueta, Onfido, Flagright and Kani, Zero said it had designed its product to appeal to the UK’s 11 million climate-conscious under-35s, enabling them to make their money work for good.
In addition to a 95% recycled plastic debit MasterCard that can be used abroad free additional ATM or point of sale charges, Zero’s app includes the GreenScore, a way for people to understand the environmental impact of their spending on their Zero card and, if they choose to link in other accounts and cards through Open Banking, the impact of their spending on those cards and accounts too.
Rather than other carbon calculators available, which are based on kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents, Zero’s GreenScore is a numerical representation of a user’s carbon footprint that will, over time, incorporate other factors to increase accuracy.
By analysing customers’ spending data to identify areas of their lifestyle contributing to climate change, the app is intended to educate customers around their consumption and environmental impacts, as well as offering them solutions to make reductions.
Zero will launch Apple Pay and Google Pay in the coming months.
Richard Theo, Zero cofounder and CEO, said:
“For the first time in a generation, a company with the potential to stand alongside Admiral as a Welsh FTSE-listed firm has emerged. If we go on to achieve this goal, it would bring tremendous economic benefits to Wales.”
Lisa Stanley, chief sustainability officer, added:
“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 fill a much-needed gap between digital banking features and effortless sustainability that simply isn't available currently.”
Zero is also pioneering a new ownership model which it calls its Community Share Option Scheme, through which the company will share 20 per cent of the value of the business with its customers. Early Zero customers are being offered 400 Community Share Options to help Zero build a community of like-minded climate-conscious people and grow the power of collective action on climate change.
Zero may later apply for a full UK bank licence to empower a wider range of products and services, such as a range of sustainable lending products.
