How Gokind is combating greenwashing with open banking
What if you could help people easily screen all the brands they buy from, from a sustainability point of view? And reward them for buying from companies that actually practice what they preach? That’s what banking app Gokind is doing. Find out how they’re subverting dynamics of modern consumption – and how open banking is helping them do it.
Swedish startup Gokind is using open banking to combat greenwashing, and help customers more easily understand which brands have sustainable practices.
They’re also encouraging consumers to buy from more ethical and sustainable companies through rewards and loyalty incentives.
They make this easy by combining users’ transaction data with sustainability data from the brands they buy from.
Stockholm-based fintech startup Gokind is introducing the world’s first ‘loyalty program for the planet’. Their small team of impact-driven entrepreneurs is on a mission that started with a shared struggle: wanting to make more sustainable choices, but not really knowing how.
It was hard to sort out which companies actually lived up to their promises, and which were just greenwashing their products and practices through marketing stunts. After realising the only way to make the distinction was to spend hours on end reading companies’ lengthy sustainability reports, they knew someone needed to change this. So they set out to transform how consumer transparency can be achieved.
Besides helping customers more easily understand a brand’s impact, Gokind is also nudging people to consume from more ethical and sustainable brands through rewards and loyalty incentives.
Here’s how their app works – and how they’re using open banking to power their purpose.
How Gokind works
Essentially, what Gokind does is combine sustainability data from brands with the user’s own transactions, so they can automatically guide users and reward them for supporting fair companies.
Anyone can simply connect Gokind to their existing bank or credit accounts and start earning ‘impact credits’ for every purchase they make. The more ethical the brand, the more credits they get.
Along the journey, users are nudged to take action and make changes in their consumption, such as by changing to electricity providers that use renewable sources, or building loyalty with companies that have more diverse leadership.
The credits earned can be exchanged for products and services (from sustainable brands, of course), or go towards donations.
See the impact of your purchases
Thanks to the financial data they can access through open banking, Gokind can give consumers personalised advice and insights on better alternatives available in each market, letting everyone make positive changes through the tap of a button.
Pushing for change through behavioral science and open banking
Gokind’s three co-founders, Simon, Hjalmar and Gustaf each bring a different toolbox to the fintech arena, and are creating Gokind by mixing their expertise in areas ranging from behavioral science, software development, sustainability reporting and business law.
Behavioural science, in particular, is a focal point for Gokind. They believe great behaviour changes can often be achieved through radical simplification and nudging – which is what open banking is helping them do. Gokind is making it easier for people to access relevant sustainability and equality data from companies – and open banking helps them understand people’s consumption habits to help them make changes for the better.
Gokind’s ambitions are high, and they don’t plan to stop at Sweden. Gokind aims to enable sustainability insights to consumers across the world – and they intend to leverage Tink’s growing coverage to achieve a profound impact.
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