Card = Plastic

“A card is just a pieceIn plural, it is commonly used as synonym for units of banknotes and coins. More of plastic, no matter which brand’s on it.” – Paul Trueman, executive vice president of cyber and intelligence at Mastercard.

Banks and other financial corporations ship massive amounts of paymentA transfer of funds which discharges an obligation on the part of a payer vis-à-vis a payee. More cards to customers worldwide made with highly polluting, first-use PVC plastic. In the United States, financial entities send over 3 billion new cards yearly, enough to wrap around the planet more than six times.

Per the American Banker/Arizent Plastic Card survey of 109 U.S. card issuers conducted last July, 69% of respondents planned to increase the number of physical cards they issued through 2028 (see Graph 1). A plurality (38%) said they would increase cards issued by up to 10%, and 31% said they would raise them by more than 10%.

Graph 1. United States: Plans to Increase or Reduce Card Issues Through 2028, 2023

Source: American Banker (2023).

Most plastic cards will take centuries to degrade. Cardholders shred their expired or unused cards and throw the pieces into the trash, meaning their plastic, metal, and electronic components end up in landfills. Santander launched a pilot to recycle cards in the United Kingdom in December 2022. HSBC UK and Mastercard launched a pilot program to recycle cards only last June.

Eco-Friendly Solutions?

“I never knew that it takes 400 years for a debit card to degrade. When you hear that, it’s shocking.” – Eric Carter, digital solutions and innovations officer at Bank of New Hampshire.

Some banks have announced they will transition to recycled plastic cards, using bioplastics made from sugar or corn, plastic waste collected from coastal areas, recycled PET (used in bottles and food packages), and recycled PVC (which emits toxic chemicals when incinerated). However, while new customers favor environmentally friendly cards, few banks offer them. Per the American Banker/Arizent survey, only 19% of respondents provide eco-friendly cards (see Graph 2).

Graph 2. United States: Plans to Increase or Reduce Card Issues Through 2028, 2023

Source: American Banker (2023).

• Starting this year, Bank of America announced issuing cards made from at least 80% recycled plastic. Banco Santander committed to making all cards in Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Poland with sustainable materials by 2025. HSBC UK will phase out single-use PVC cards by 2027.
• Physical Apple Cards are made with titanium, “a sustainable metal known for its beauty and durability,” says Apple. Apple has not announced plans to recycle expired or canceled cards.
• Digital cards in mobile wallets might help reduce plastic waste. “The digital card further helps to reduce our clients’ reliance on plastic,” said Robin Growley, Consumer Deposit Payments and Products executive at Bank of America. However, digital cards rely on smartphones, which require electricity and add to electronic trash when they stop working.
• The EMV chips, contactless antennas, magnetic stripes, and adhesives in eco-friendly cards still use polluting materials. Even cards made with eco-friendly materials will also expire and be discarded.

Card Payment Networks

As leading actors in global card payments, Mastercard and Visa have taken some steps to reduce the environmental footprint of plastic cards but have stopped short of adopting actions that accelerate the industry’s adoption of eco-friendly cards.

Mastercard

“At Mastercard we are leading and shaping our industry’s collective pursuit of a more sustainable, more environmentally conscious future. […] We are making a firm commitment to reducing our environmental footprint – for the benefit of people, planet and inclusive growth,” –Ajay Bhalla, President of Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard.

• In 2018, Mastercard launched the Greener Payments partnership with card manufacturers IDEMIA (France), Giesecke+Devrient (Germany), and Gemalto (a Dutch unit of Thales) to reduce the use of first-use PVC plastic.
• Through 2022, over 330 financial entities in 80 countries have issued cards through Mastercard’s Sustainable Card Program. There were 169 million Mastercard-branded cards produced with sustainable materials (Mastercard 2023: 26). This is a small amount, as there were 3.221 billion active Mastercard cards as of the second quarter of 2023 (Mastercard 2023: 5).
• Mastercard will only require card issuers to use recycled plastics in their cards until 2028.

Visa

“Visa is committed to advancing sustainability in everything we do, from the 100 percent renewable electricity that processes transactions in our data centers, to the sustainable card materials coming to cardholders’ wallets.” – Douglas Sabo, vice president and head of corporate responsibility and sustainability at Visa Inc.

• Visa partnered with CPI Card Group in 2020 to launch Earthwise, a card made of up to 98% rPETG upcycled plastic.
• There were 4.201 billion active Visa cards as of the third fiscal quarter of 2023 (Visa 2023: 13).
• Visa did not mention the environmental footprint of its branded cards in its 2022 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report.
• Visa sponsored the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Qatar’s eight stadiums used air conditioning powered with solar energy during the tournament.

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