Standard Chartered's innovation arm has enlisted the help of Starling Bank for a digital platform that will help UK savers invest in green and sustainable projects.
Launching next year, the Shoal platform will invite Standard Chartered customers to select from a shortlist of options such as renewable energy, clean water, and community development.
Once they have chosen a theme or combination of themes to support, customers' money will be used exclusively to fund projects aligned with them. Users will receive regular updates on the projects they have helped fund, and a "competitive" rate of return.
Shoal is powered by Starling Banking Services, the challenger bank's BaaS offering. Standard Chartered says that by using Starling’s technology and APIs, it can focus on customer acquisition and service and delivering a front-end app.
Anne Boden, CEO, Starling, says: "Starling will handle the technical and regulatory demands behind the scenes, leaving Shoal to take care of their customers."
Shoal will also be added to the Starling Marketplace "in due course", making it available to Starling customers.
Bill Winters, group chief executive, Standard Chartered, says: "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.
"With Shoal, we’re excited to build a platform that will unlock much-needed retail capital to fund sustainable projects in parts of the world where the impact will be greatest and give savers the power to make good money, whilst making money do good."