Connect with us

Financial

Mastercard Empowers Consumers With Eco-Friendly Cards

Published

on

, SiliconNigeria

According to a recent Mastercard study, 58% of consumers are more mindful of their impact on the environment, with 85% willing to take personal action this year.

Today, Mastercard makes this promise easier to realize with a new badge to identify cards made more sustainably from recyclable, recycled, bio-sourced, chlorine-free, degradable or ocean plastics. Easy to spot on the card, the badge is a simple reminder of the commitments made to address sustainability concerns.

“People want brands to behave in more sustainable and eco-friendly ways. But, making it happen across extended supply chains with multiple partners can be trickier than setting a goal,” says Ajay Bhalla, president of Cyber & Intelligence, Mastercard. “With this sustainable badge, certification and recycling program, we have a real chance to address each of these issues and bring trust to sustainable choice as we collectively move towards a more circular economy.”

The Mastercard Sustainable Materials Directory, established last year, aims to help issuers offer more eco-friendly cards to consumers. More than 100 financial institutions, including Banco Santander and Starling Bank, offer Mastercard sustainable card programs in over 30 countries.

Producing cards made from more sustainable materials is an important step. To extend the impact of these efforts, Mastercard and Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) have developed a new program that helps pe

ople easily recycle their cards.

How the certification and recycling program work

Cards carrying the sustainable card badge will be verified by an independent, first-of-its-kind certification program that assesses sustainability claims. Using current industry benchmarks, cards will be certified if they meaningfully reduce energy consumption, material consumption, carbon footprint and waste. Each year, the benchmarks will improve as overall sustainability levels improve, continuing to contribute to better environmental management.

Mastercard and G+D will deliver a toolbox of recycling solutions that can be optimized for specific issuer, market and material needs. This builds on the Greener Payments Partnership (GPP) formed in 2018 to reduce first-use PVC plastic in card manufacturing.

“Our vision for our sustainability offering goes beyond the production of an eco-card,” explains Mikko Kähkönen, responsible for the smart cards portfolio at G+D. “Our purpose is to offer our bank clients the services they need to implement their own sustainability strategy, and also to tackle industry challenges such as the recycling of payment cards. A fast growing number of eco-conscious consumers are demanding from G+D, from banks and from industry leaders such as Mastercard that they collaborate towards such solutions to serve future generations and protect our environment.”

Helping consumers contribute to the future of the planet

With growing consumer passion for the environment, Mastercard continues to develop products and programs that help consumers contribute to the future of the planet, supporting an inclusive, sustainable digital economy. In 2020, Mastercard created the Priceless Planet Coalition, which unites the efforts of merchants, banks, cities and consumers to restore 100 million trees and help combat climate change. The company also launched the Mastercard carbon calculator in collaboration with Swedish fintech Doconomy. This tool enables banks to equip consumers with data and insights about carbon impact and offer them ways to contribute to reforestation through the Priceless Planet Coalition.

Continue Reading
Advertisement Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Financial

Nigeria’s SEC Grants Volition Cap License to Kickstart Fund Management 

Published

on

, SiliconNigeria

Volition Cap, an asset management company empowering the hardworking middle-class to create wealth, announced today that it has secured a fund management license from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as of December 2022.

This license allows the company to operate as a registered fund manager in Nigeria, as it prepares to launch a suite of retail and institutional investment products for Africans living on the continent and in the Diaspora.

Founded in 2018, Volition Cap is a game-changing asset manager that leverages traditional cooperatives, a model it created through Volition Cooperative, a licensed multi-purpose cooperative making investing stress-free for its members.

By leveraging technology to distribute products, Volition Cap will reduce the cost of investment services and the challenge of easy access. With the credibility and trust that an SEC license confers, this home-grown business is poised to scale its bespoke products across Africa and the Diaspora.

Subomi Plumptre, CEO of Volition Cap, said, “Our company was founded by entrepreneurs who truly understand the daily struggles of the middle class. From our operation’s inception, we have focused on empowering this group to attain financial success. The SEC license is a significant milestone for us as we introduce retail and institutional products to drive economic growth.” 

Continue Reading

Financial

QNET Creates Initiative To Increase Financial Inclusion In Youth Communities 

Published

on

, SiliconNigeria

Global e-commerce based direct selling company, QNET is working to increase financial inclusion in youth communities through its signature educational programme called FinGreen.

FinGreen aims to boost financial inclusion in underserved communities by empowering individuals with the skills required to be financially confident, aware, and savvy through its three pillars: assessing target communities, training them, and transforming participants into financial literacy advocates.

One of the programme’s first ambassadors, Anuoluwapo Ayoola, is sharing her newly gained financial skills and knowledge with 70 university students at a workshop she organised in Abuja about educating other young people about the importance of financial literacy as an essential life skill.

She said, “I am thrilled to have organised a financial literacy workshop at the University of Abuja, with the generous support of QNET. Financial literacy is not just about managing money. It’s about creating a better future for ourselves and future generations. As an ambassador of FinGreen, I’m excited for more opportunities to educate my peers on why financial education and literacy are so important!”

Ayoola based her financial literacy workshop on campus at the University of Abuja on the insights and understanding she gained as part of the pilot cohort to complete the first phase of FinGreen trainings, which kicked off in Nigeria in June of 2022. She designed the first module of her workshop to challenge the assumptions on financial literacy, educating the 70 participants on how they can adjust their mindset to utilise financial knowledge for their benefit.

The second module drew on Ayoola’s experience as a student, where she shared practical strategies and tips on how participants can manage their finances as students and as working adults. This will be crucial to help participants manage their financial sustainability and investment, seeing as many Nigerian students bear significant debt due to the increasing cost of tertiary education.

Mr. Biram Fall, the regional general Manager of QNET Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “We are honoured to support Anu Ayoola and the University of Abuja’s Financial Literacy Workshop. With the constantly shifting financial landscape and the digitisation of financial services, young people need to be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their money. Not just that, we want to continue helping young people, like Anu Ayoola, develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills and foster a sense of responsibility and leadership through FinGreen.”

Continue Reading

Financial

US Investigates Mastercard Debit Card Programme

Published

on

, SiliconNigeria

Mastercard says the Department of Justice is investigating potential anticompetitive behaviour related to its debit card operations.

In an SEC regulatory filing, the payments giant says that last month it received a civil investigative demand from the DoJ seeking documents and information regarding a potential violation of the Sherman Act, a competition law.

“The CID focuses on Mastercard’s US debit program and competition with other payment networks and technologies,” says the filing.

In 2021, the DoJ began a similar investigation into Visa and whether the company had restricted the ability of merchants to send debit transactions through less expensive networks.

According to Bloomberg, in January the justice department issued more CIDs to Visa seeking additional documents and information.

Mastercard CFO Sachin Mehra tells Bloomberg: “It’s not surprising that the DOJ would request information from other players in the debit space.”

Continue Reading

Popular News