Visa Eco Benefits to encourage cardholders engage in sustainability

14 / 11 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

Visa, a leading global payments technology company, announced today the launch of Visa Eco Benefits, a new package of sustainability-focused benefits for account issuers designed to enable and encourage their cardholders to engage in sustainable consumption behaviors.

The Visa Eco Benefits bundle will be available first in Europe and then rolled out globally during the next year to Visa’s clients. With this new offering, Visa continues to play a leading role in driving sustainable commerce and climate action in the payments industry, supporting its clients’ objectives to meet increasing demand from cardholders to enable sustainable consumption and living.

The Visa Eco Benefits bundle will allow Visa issuers to add sustainability-focused benefits to existing Visa cardholder credit/debit products, enabling cardholders to understand the impact of their spending on the environment, as well as encourage sustainable consumption and behaviors.

The package includes Carbon footprint calculator, carbon offsets, personalized education for customers on how to encourage more sustainable consumption, sustainable card materials, donations to environmental organizations, expanded rewards for cardholders for sustainable behaviors.

Insights offered by ecolytiq for cardholders into the estimated carbon footprint of their spend, including a new temperature score, which helps cardholders understand the climate impact of their personal spending behavior and how their consumption choices contribute to the 1.5°C Paris Climate Change Agreement goal.

“At Visa, we recognize the urgency of climate change and are committed to a new era of sustainable and inclusive economic growth,” said Charlotte Hogg, executive vice president and chief executive officer, Europe, Visa. “As an engine of global commerce, we have the opportunity to work with clients and partners around the world to help embed sustainability into the payments ecosystem and support cardholder and business choices through the transition.”

According to a recent GlobeScan study of 31,000 people across 31 markets, consumers continue to have high ambitions for sustainable living. According to Visa cardholder research, these high aspirations for sustainable living carry through to banking and payments. For example, a majority of U.S. cardholders surveyed agreed that sustainability is important to them, with 62% very likely or somewhat likely to apply for a sustainability-focused payment card and trends skewing higher in the millennial generation. In Europe, cardholders ranked sustainability-focused features most important after traditional card benefits like fraud protection and acceptance in choosing their next payment card.

The Visa Eco Benefits bundle is a continuation of Visa’s global aspiration to be a climate positive company, using its products, services, data, network and brand to drive sustainable commerce and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Earlier this year, Visa announced a pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement goal.

“Sustainability is the challenge of our time, but also one of the greatest opportunities for the finance industry,” said Ulrich Pietsch, co-founder and chief executive officer, ecolytiq. “Equipped with the right tools like the Visa Eco Benefits bundle, the finance industry becomes the driving force for change by educating millions of consumers about their impact and by empowering them to take effective climate action to build the sustainable future we all deserve.”

Visa’s Eco Benefits bundle is the latest milestone in Visa’s sustainability leadership. The company’s recognition includes inclusion on the following: Dow Jones Sustainability North American Index, America’s Most Responsible Companies, and 100 Most Just Companies.