Swipe your card. Help the planet.
That is the premise behind Ekko, a London-based fintech that just announced it is opening its US headquarters in Atlanta.
The B2B2C platform works directly with banks, payment and financial services companies to integrate sustainability efforts into their products and experiences. End consumers see the impact of their purchase in real time and are then given ability to take action. That looks like allowing customers to track the carbon footprint of each purchase and then contribute a small amount of money to verified environmental projects at checkout.
Those projects, run by what Ekko calls impact partners, range from companies doing carbon credits to animal welfare to plastic pollution prevention to nature restoration. Partners are selected and overseen by Ekko’s Chief Sustainability Officer to ensure that they are “highest level of credibility and integrity and can trace impact,” said CEO Oli Cook.
Because Ekko does not have to worry about country-specific regulatory compliance, fintech can easily scale across geographies.
Cook told Hypepotamus that Ekko’s product is appealing to banks and merchants alike because it works as a “revenue line” rather than an extra cost. This makes it easier for companies to do good while still running a strong business.
ATL’s Global Fintech Appeal
Hypepotamus spoke to Cook just as the Ekko team was announcing their new US headquarters in the South Downtown neighborhood of Atlanta.
Cook said that Ekko was drawn to Atlanta not only because of its stature as ‘Transaction Alley,’ but also because of the local startup and business community.
“The most important bit for me was that in every other city, we went to people and they said, ‘You should come here. We’re the best.’ Whereas here in Atlanta, everyone said, ‘We want you here. How can we help?’ That’s the community we want to be part of. Where people want to lean in and help us grow our business and we can help them grow their business. That aligns to Ekko’s values.”
While the team was started in the United Kingdom, it has quickly scaled to customers across multiple continents after hitting “product market hit” two years ago, Cook added.
Grant Wainscott, who previously worked as the VP of Ecosystem Expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber, will lead Ekko’s North American entry and expansion efforts from the new Atlanta office.
Cook said that the team will be hiring for Atlanta-based product, sales, and marketing roles over the next 12 to 18 months.
Now, many sustainability projects have had a tough time over the last year, as political headwinds and shifting priorities have slowed momentum in some markets.
But Cook said that there is still a “huge appetite” to support nature-based projects across the United States.
“Business leaders want to be in this space,” he added. “They can actually meet customer demand and make money at the same time.”