Cover story: QUANTUM LIGHTS UP – The future is almost upon us, are you ready?Click on the image to read the full digital editionWelcome to the February edition of Banking Technology, bringing you the latest stories from the world of banking, payments and fintech.A new climate fintech has opened its virtual doors in the UK, called Zero. The start-up launched its sustainability-focused money app alongside a new Crowdcube campaign, targeting a pre-money undiluted valuation of £8.3 million.The sustainable spending is measured in the app using an integrated GreenScore feature that scores the carbon footprint of everyday transactions against a proprietary index. Founder and CEO Richard Theo says it is “the first time anyone has presented personal sustainability in a way that people can engage with”.He explains: “Money and bank apps have traditionally presented carbon footprint as KGs of carbon per transaction. It’s interesting data, but it’s not in a form that empowers anyone to act to reduce their impact.”Click on the image to read the full digital editionMeanwhile, another green banking fintech in the UK, Tred, is shutting down. Founded in 2019, it, too, offered money management and carbon tracking tools and raised money via crowdfunding (£1.6 million). “Recent changes to financial regulations around Authorised Push Payment Fraud have significantly impacted smaller disruptors like Tred, which we simply aren’t equipped to sustain,”the start-up says.In the US, a casualty of headwinds in California-based Cushion, which positioned itself as “the only ‘Plaid for BNPL’ on the market”. Founder and CEO Paul Kesserwani says that “despite bringing multiple new fintech products to market, we didn’t reach the scale needed to sustain the business”.Founded in 2016, Cushion claims to have onboarded over 1 million users, processed $300m in BNPL loans and secured more than $15 million in refunds. It raised around $21 million in total funding and was valued at $82.4 million following its Series A in 2022.Our editorial team has lots more start-up stories in the works – keep an eye on our start-up news section on the FinTech Futures website!CLICK HERE TO READ AND DOWNLOAD THE FREE DIGITAL EDITION OF THE BANKING TECHNOLOGY FEBRUARY 2025 MAGAZINE.
Gio. Feb 6th, 2025
