ImpactAlpha, December 11 – Good Money has taken a page from cooperative banks and credit unions, as well as the impact investing community, by launching a member-owned conscious bank. The online bank’s Series A funding round was led by Galaxy Digital, with backing from a slew of other venture capital firms and individual investors.
Good Money was founded by Gunnar Lovelace, the founder of organic e-commerce company Thrive Market. He launched the bank with the idea that financial services “can start to work better when people and the planet are the stakeholders.”
The company offers FDIC-insured checking and high-yield savings accounts, and offers account holders a stake in the bank when they sign up. It doesn’t charge members fee for services like ATM use or for overdrafting their accounts. The profits it makes it pledges to invest only in sustainable causes, like conservation and green energy. Members can vote on charitable causes for the bank to donate to as well.
Good Money exists among a growing field of retail financial services companies on a mission to reform banking and everyday investing for social and environmental good. Last year, Aspiration, another conscious retail bank secured $47 million in a Series B funding round. CNote, OpenInvest and Swell have all raised recent rounds of investor capital for their socially-driven savings and investment products.
