Aspiration, an 8-year-old Los Angeles-based challenger bank, is going public through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company InterPrivate III Financial Partners Inc. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Why should we care?
Aspiration was one of the early fintech firms that focused on environmentally sustainable financial services. The company’s checking account offers deposits “won't fund fossil fuel exploration or production” with options to plant a tree with every roundup, and cash back rewards for purchases at sustainable businesses. The company also offers investments that are based on an analysis of companies’ sustainable environmental, workplace, and governance (ESG) practices. “Through its merger with InterPrivate, Aspiration will become the first ESG-driven fintech, a unique platform enabling individuals and enterprises to integrate and automate impact into their every-day financial and commercial transactions,” Ahmed Fattouh, Chairman and CEO of InterPrivate III said in a statement. After the transaction closes, the company is expected to have more than $400M that it plans to devote toward marketing and further investments in product innovation and technology. Led by founder and CEO Andrei Cherny – a lawyer and former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton – Aspiration has more than five million customers.