“Can a mission-driven, sustainability-branded neobank build durable customer loyalty and financial infrastructure on par with mainstream fintechs while charging what customers choose to pay?”
Founded in 2013 as a sustainability-as-a-service fintech, Aspiration differentiated itself from neobank peers by embedding environmental impact tracking into checking accounts and debit cards. The company raised over $250M and pursued a SPAC listing in 2021, positioning itself as a 'conscious consumerism' banking alternative powered by BaaS infrastructure from multiple sponsor banks. In 2025, co-founder Joe Sanberg was arrested for fraud — having inflated revenue figures and fabricated bank statements to obtain $145M in loans — leading to bankruptcy and full asset liquidation by mid-2025.
Aspiration discloses Coastal Community Bank as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Aspiration does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Coastal Community Bank.
Aspiration connects to bank accounts through Plaid.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 3 layers in Aspiration's stack: Banking / BaaS (Coastal Community Bank); Open banking (Plaid); Sponsor bank (Coastal Community Bank).
Aspiration was founded by Andrei Cherny and Joe Sanberg and is founded in 2013, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Aspiration has raised $250M+ in total (latest round: Unknown).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Aspiration and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.