Mogo, a Vancouver-based FinTech startup, is hopping on the climate action wagon as it tries out a carbon offset program for its newly-launched digital spending account, MogoSpend.
The FinTech startup is calling the offering the first digital spending account that allows users to earn cashback while having a positive impact on the environment.
“Canadians will have a way to help control their spending while offsetting their carbon footprint.”
Through its carbon offset program, Mogo has pledged to offset one pound of CO² for every dollar spent using its prepaid Visa card. The company partnered with Vancouver-based sustainability and carbon-management solutions provider Offsetters, which helps organizations reduce and offset their environmental impacts.
“We wanted to make this a card that also helps make a positive impact on the planet,” said Mogo founder and CEO David Feller. “With the launch of MogoSpend, Canadians will have a way to help control and reduce their spending while also offsetting their carbon footprint.”
Feller added that the company’s goal was to create a product that gives consumers more control than a debit card that allows earning of cashback rewards, without charging monthly or annual fees.
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Mogo joins a number of other Canadian companies to introduce carbon offset programs. AirCanada, for example, has sought the help of Toronto-based Less Emissions, a company that helps mitigate the environmental damage of a passenger’s particular 3,348-kilometre flight by spending the money on carbon emission-reducing projects elsewhere.
Similar to a chequing account, MogoSpend members will receive a Mogo Visa Platinum Prepaid Card to use for purchases. The program offers cashback of 1.5 percent on all domestic purchases and 3 percent on all foreign currency purchases, which are all automatically credited back on a monthly basis.
Mogo said it plans to roll out the digital spending account to members on its waitlist in the next few months. MogoSpend is available through Mogo’s iOS or Android apps.
Image courtesy Mogo