With Halloween fast approaching, we’re asking what skeletons are hiding in our bank accounts?
Not the regular, hair-raising dips into the red to fund our daily coffee habit, or endless terrifying Vinted transactions...but a deeper dive into what industries our banks might be financing – with our money.
Scarily, many of us in the UK still use the account our parents set up for us around the age of 13, or the bank we chose on the basis of its freebie offers when we started uni. This will more than likely be with one of the UK’s Big 5 banks – Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Natwest or Lloyds.
It’s said you’re more likely to get divorced than ever change your bank account.
Luckily, those statistics are slowly but surely starting to change, with a growing number of customers opting to have a second, more digitally-focused account with the likes of Monzo or Starling, for example.
While none of this in itself is overly worrying, there are potentially some big jump scares to come if you start to look more closely at what your bank does with your money.
Bank Track is a site that lists large global banks by country, and then by investment type or location – so you can see what terrifying activities your bank might be supporting, from plastic production, fossil fuels, arms and weapons, deforestation and more. If you’re prepared for some scary reading, take a look and see if your bank features.
Make My Money Matter is a campaign designed to draw our attention to the UK-run banks and pension funds that continue to finance fossil fuel expansion and deforestation. Their website also provides useful information on how to switch.
While we’re not (yet) a bank and therefore cannot invest in, lend to or finance any business sectors – sustainable or not – we have made the promise that no money that flows through Zero will ever be used in ways that aren’t supporting climate action.
Zero will also help you understand the environmental impact of your spending on your Zero card and through other banks, and other lifestyle factors – is it supporting climate action or is it scarily unsustainable?
Our vision at Zero is for a world where money is a force for the good of the planet. No skeletons allowed. Join us by signing up to our waitlist.