UK impact neobank Novus has been accepted into an ongoing initiative created by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a bid to continue developing innovative products and services that will aid the transition to a net-zero economy.

After being assessed against a range of eligibility criteria including genuine innovation, consumer benefit and need for support, Novus was successfully chosen as one of five ‘Direct Support’ firms to join the programme. As a result, the business will benefit from a package of bespoke support and engagement services to navigate regulation and support live market testing of new products and services that will aid the transition to a net-zero economy.

Following the success of the pilot scheme which launched in line with the Government’s Green Great Britain Week in October 2018, the ‘Green FinTech Challenge’ is part of a broader programme that uses a regulatory innovation ‘toolkit’ designed to assist firms in overcoming these transition challenges.

 

Co-founder and CEO of Novus, Hristian Nedyalkov, explained: “Novus uses the power of technology to generate positive impact from everyday financial activity, with a goal to create an ecosystem that connects consumers’ spending habits to purpose-driven brands and impact projects.

“Every time a user taps their Novus card, real-time ‘impact’ points are donated to various environmental and social causes such as funding meals, cleaning the ocean and so much more. Members can then follow their impact to see just how much of a difference they are making, as well as track and offset their carbon footprint based on their card activity.

“Over the last six months, Novus has built its own proprietary core banking infrastructure through various milestones – we were the first digital banking app in the UK to become a certified B Corporation™ and we are now officially live in the UK. Being accepted into the Green FinTech Challenge will help take us one step closer to becoming the ‘super app’ for the growing conscious consumer segment and we are really excited to have direct support from the FCA to help us navigate the regulatory environment as we expand our product proposition.”

 

Co-founded by a team of entrepreneurs with shared experience in fintech, private equity and app development, Novus has received a significant amount of support from multiple angel investors and VCs, as well as raising an impressive $5 million total capital to date.

Novus is now live on both the App Store and Google Play Store and is continuing to rapidly onboard users across the UK.