Aspiration, Inc.


Aspiration Partners, Inc. is an online financial institution based in Marina del Rey, California, offers banking and investing products and services., Aspiration had 1.5 million customers.

History

Aspiration was founded in 2013 by Andrei Cherny and Joseph Sanberg. It opened for business in February 2015.
Aspiration has raised over $200 million in funding. Investors include Allen & Company, Orlando Bloom, Gilt Groupe founder Alexis Maybank, Alex Pomeroy, Matthew Dowd, Doc Rivers, Deborah Chase Hopkins, Frank Yeary, GSV Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, and the Omidyar Network.

Products

Aspiration offers an interest-bearing deposit account known as Spend & Save. They also offer an optional paid subscription service, Aspiration Plus, that offers features such as: a recycled plastic debit card, increased interest on the Save Account, carbon offsets for gas purchases, and reimbursement of 1 out-of-network ATM fee per month.
In April 2017, the company launched a feature on its mobile app called Aspiration Impact Measurement, which examines 75,000 data points and shows scores for companies where Aspiration customers shop, based on how those companies treat people and the planet. Each Aspiration customer is also given a personal AIM score based on their purchasing behavior.
Aspiration also offers mutual fund investments, including its sustainable Redwood Fund and its Flagship fund that invests in liquid alternative strategies. The Aspiration Redwood Fund, launched in November 2015, only invests in environmentally responsible companies and is completely free of fossil fuel and firearm companies. The Redwood Fund is also offered as an IRA and requires a minimum investment of $100.
The company allows its customers to name their own checking and investing fees through its “Pay What Is Fair” initiative.

Recognition