The notion of ethics and banking seems like something of an antithesis, but launching this month, Science Card enables customers to drive ground-breaking research for cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, climate science, and quantum calculations — all via their everyday spending.
Founded in 2021, it’s the brainchild of Daniel Baeriswyl, a former UCL Ph.D. student specialising in brain deaths, who personally experienced the funding shortfall plaguing vital research projects.
He told me he discovered the substantial financial investments in the corporate sector compared to the relatively limited funding allocated to transformative R&D. This prompted them to ponder whether efficiency could be enhanced to expedite and amplify the impact of ground-breaking scientific advancements:
“So I thought, we need to connect R&D in science innovation closer to the source of money. And that was the birth of the Science Card.”
Science Card partners with leading UK universities, enabling users to support projects that resonate but also enhance funding efficiency directly.
Donors can see the exact impact of their contributions — for example, a heart research project can show exactly how much closer to their funding target your donation has brought them this month.
Crowdfunding life-changing scientific research
As a card, Science Card offers the usual benefits you’d get with a neo bank. A free card provides you with your own secure account number. You can pay anywhere with your Mastercard® debit card, send and receive money within seconds, and access intelligent vaults to organise your finances.
Baeriswyl explained:
“For the first time ever, instead of contributing to a charity, you can contribute directly to research of your choice. Simply use the card, and you are contributing.”
However, users can also make microgrants, and round up purchase amounts.
To be accurate, it’s more ‘crowd grants’ than ‘crowdfunding’ in a but still a first-of-its-kind initiative.
Customers can subscribe to a ‘Fusion card‘ for a monthly subscription fee, meaning they can become patrons of specific projects, enabling them to benefit from any returns generated through the research.
Baeriswyl also dedicates 10 percent of Science Card’s profits to research funding. He hopes the Science Card will remedy the chronic underfunding of STEM research in the UK and propel life-saving research.
The company has thousands of subscribers on the waitlist, and you can expect to see Science Card in app stores in the next few weeks. The company is also planning to launch business cards in the near future.
Lead image: via Science Card.
