Science Card, a financial platform which aims to support innovation in science and technology, has launched an e-money account and debit card to help fund scientific research.

Through the free account, customers can choose which UK university projects they would like to support and automatically contribute to when using their card.

When a payment is made, Science Card will automatically round up the amount and use it to fund these projects.

Current research people can choose to support includes projects focusing on kidney transplants, dementia and cervical cancer which are being conducted at King’s College London, University College London, Newcastle University, and Kingston University.

According to government figures, the UK spends around 2.7 per cent of its GDP on research. This is lower compared to countries such as Germany and the US, where research funding accounts for four per cent of GDP.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) estimates that that there is a funding gap of around £4 billion in the UK which leads university researchers spending a “disproportionate” amount of time looking for funding instead of conducting research.

Science Card said it aims to solve this problem by allowing researchers to crowdfund their work, claiming that it raises public awareness of research taking place in the UK as well as providing monetary assistance.

Customers will be kept updated by academics and researchers on projects’ progress and how their contributions are helping to create new technologies.

Founder of Science Card, Daniel Baeriswyl, PhD, said that while the UK is a “world leader” when it comes to research, this work could significantly advance technology in areas such as health and climate change.

“For too many people in these fields, their time is spent securing increasingly hard-won funding, taking them away from what matters most and creating the risk that vital research might not even be able to take place,” he added. “Our mission is to bridge the gap between science and financial services, empowering people to shape our sustainable future, and enabling them to drive game-changing breakthroughs and innovations in science and tech, all by just going about their everyday spending.”

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