FinTech News

Carbon Credit API Cloverly Joins Visa’s FinTech Partner Connect 

Last year, Visa introduced the FinTech Partner Connect program to the United States, with the goal of introducing institutions to vetted startups that could help them expand their product offerings. Now, the latest company to join the program is Cloverly.

Founded in 2019, Cloverly is an API for carbon credits, allowing businesses and consumers to help fight climate change. As the company points out, with the Visa partnership, Visa clients will be able to create “climate-friendly rewards programs” including eco-focused card products and more. Currently, the service is used by more than 200 enterprises, with Cloverly expecting that figure to grow as part of their participation in the Partner Connect program.

Commenting on joining the FinTech Partner Connect program, Cloverly CEO Jason Rubottom said, “Our partnership with Visa is a validation of the critical role that channeling our finances through banks & credit cards has in mitigating climate change. We are incredibly excited to take climate action mainstream and look forward to driving innovation for financial institutions.”

Additionally, Visa’s SVP and Global Head of Innovation and Digital Partnerships Vanessa Colella said of the partnership, “We’re excited to work with exciting FinTechs like Cloverly to make climate awareness and action available through innovative solutions. By joining Visa’s Fintech Partner Connect program, our clients will have access to Cloverly’s capabilities to help bring sustainability efforts to their consumers.”

Cloverly is among a growing list of FinTechs that have focused their efforts on the environment. One of the largest examples of this is Aspiration, which offers banking services, investments, and a credit card — all of which support reforestation and other climate change-fighting efforts. More recently, the startup Future Card raised $5.3 million for its debit card that encourages consumers to choose more Earth-friendly options by rewarding them with cashback and more.

Although Aspiration and (to a lesser extent) FutureCard have made names for themselves by launching their own consumer-facing FinTech products, it’s easy to imagine that Cloverly’s API could allow larger institutions to offer some similar features to these FinTechs. Of course, there could also be pushback from consumers if certain institutions were to try to adopt these efforts as many major banks invest in companies that would be seen as furthering climate change instead of fighting it. Nevertheless, as part of Visa’s Partner Connect program, it will be interesting to see what kind of reach Cloverly ends up having and whether we could see its services deployed to many more banking products, loyalty programs, and more soon.