The fact that customers will decide the future of banks recently became clear when the digital association Bitkom e. V. announced the results of a study at the beginning of the year: “Online banking is becoming the standard.” For FinTech Tomorrow, which is committed to sustainability, the interests of customers are even a central part of its product development and investment strategy. This was one of the main reasons why Tomorrow, as a certified B Corp, was awarded “Best For The World” in the “Customers” category by B Lab this year. We ask Elena Stark 5 questions about it.
What do you think led to this award? What does the high score in this category represent?
Our high score is largely due to the positive assessment of our stakeholder engagement and our investment strategy and criteria. Money has a major impact on our future, both as individuals in terms of our own wealth and collectively on the world in which we will live in the future. It is precisely this leverage effect of money that we use at Tomorrow. We actively involve our stakeholders, including our customers, in the (further) development of our vision of the future of banking. Together with our community, we were able to define our strict investment criteria through various interviews and MeetUps, among other things. The “Best for the World” award reflects precisely this dual approach: Good for the world and good for you. We therefore create clear added value for our customers & community and also for the development of the world in terms of the Sustainable Development Goals.
You also have an impact business model in the category. Can you briefly describe what this means and what it represents?
Tomorrow offers the convenience of mobile banking – without having to compromise on your own values. Our impact is (currently) based on three key drivers: customer deposits, the interchange fee and our “Zero” premium account. While we buy organic vegetables and use green electricity, our money is sitting in a conventional bank and may be financing a new coal-fired power plant. At Tomorrow, things work differently: we invest customer deposits – i.e. the money of all users – according to our strict investment criteria. The money flows exclusively into social and sustainable bonds that promote sustainable development in line with the SDGs. We promise that not a single cent will flow into yesterday’s business models, such as fossil fuels, armaments or factory farming. In this way, we are making money part of the solution instead of continuing to promote yesterday’s industries. With the Tomorrow climate protection contribution, we also make a contribution to a better tomorrow with every card payment made by our customers and use it for climate protection projects. We are currently protecting part of the Brazilian rainforest by helping the indigenous people to secure the land rights for their territories and thus protect them from deforestation. For customers who want to get even more involved in climate protection, there is Zero. A large part of the fee goes towards projects that help to reduce CO2 emissions in the Global South. We are currently supporting the expansion of clean drinking water facilities in Eritrea and helping small farmers in Peru to secure sustainable sources of income and their forest land. We will be launching our first fully sustainable investment product in the near future. In doing so, we are promoting the decarbonization of the economy and helping our customers to build their wealth.
What specific impact have you been able to achieve with the measures in this category? What are you particularly proud of?
As a community, with now >90,0000 customers and soon 100 employees, we have managed to save more than 124,000 tons of CO2 equivalents since our foundation with our investments in climate protection projects and sustainable bonds. In other words, if every German over 18 were with Tomorrow, we could save 69,460,000 tons of CO2 per year. That’s more than Latvia and Denmark together emitted in 2018. The figures make it clear that we are definitely on the right track and spur us on to further increase our impact.
What or who made this award possible?
Clearly, none of this would have been possible without our community. Without the feedback and constant exchange internally and with our customers, business partners, investors and NGOs, we would not have been able to achieve this success in such a short time.
Finally, what are 3 words that define the B Corp movement for you?
Community, drive and (future) visions.
About Tomorrow
Tomorrow is a sustainable banking provider from Hamburg that was founded in 2018 by Inas Nureldin, Michael Schweikart and Jakob Berndt. The three founders and over 90 employees are working towards the same mission: making money a lever for positive change. The social business has been offering a current account since March 2019 and already has over 90,000 customers. In the future, a digital platform for all aspects of finance with a positive impact will be created. More information at www.tomorrow.one
About “Best for the World™ Each year, B Lab recognizes the top performing B Corps. “Best for the World” is the award given to a B Corp-certified company when it ranks in the top 5% globally in its respective size group in one of five impact areas: community, customers, environment, governance and employees. These companies prove that they have successfully integrated the three pillars of sustainability and, as “the best for the world”, are at the forefront of a movement that is driving the transformation of business to a stakeholder-oriented and inclusive economy. This interview previously appeared on Karry Schwettmann’s blog
