Standard Chartered to launch climate-focused savings app powered by Starling
SC Ventures, the innovation arm of London-based bank Standard Chartered, is set to launch a new digital platform to help UK savers fight climate change.
Customers can track the progress of funded projects
Named Shoal, the platform leverages challenger bank Starling’s Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering.
Standard Chartered says Shoal will allow customers to “invest exclusively in green and sustainable projects” and will give them “the power to select the types of project their money supports”.
Launching in 2022, the first product on the platform will be a savings account. Customers will be invited to select from a shortlist of options such as renewable energy, clean water and community development, and the bank says “their money will be used exclusively to fund projects aligned with those themes”.
Customers will then receive regular updates on the projects they have helped fund, alongside a “competitive rate of return”.
The firm adds that using Starling’s technology and APIs means payments can be made instantly into funds, and the challenger’s banking licence means they will be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Standard Chartered’s group chief executive Bill Winters says Shoal will “unlock much-needed retail capital to fund sustainable projects in parts of the world where the impact will be greatest”.
“While we looked to the COP26 conference to accelerate government action, our partnership with Starling Bank is an example of the private sector taking decisive steps to scale climate investment.”
SC Ventures’ Alex Manson adds: “With Shoal, we are creating a new venture to address the growing need of retail clients for sustainable financial and non-financial products, starting with UK and expanding to other markets over time.”
