Santander Bank Polska launches eco-friendly payment cards
Starting from 1 July, Santander Bank Polska will issue eco-friendly Visa cards made in 85% of upcycled plastic. Thanks to the use of sustainable materials for this payment solution, the carbon footprint is reduced to 75%. The cards will have a new uniform vertical design across entire Santander Group.
At the end of 2020, Polish consumers had nearly 44 million payment cards. This number is growing rapidly year over year*. This means that we now use around 215 tonnes of plastic which will sooner or later turn into waste. These data show how important it is for card issuers to limit the use of plastic.
The pillar of the Responsible Banking strategy pursued by Santander Bank Polska is to be a “green bank”. To this end, the Bank has undertaken to limit its environmental footprint and adopted a plan to reduce and discontinue the use of plastic. According to this plan, by the end of 2021 single-use plastic will be phased out in all countries in which Santander Group operates. Santander Bank Polska already eliminated single-use plastic and plastic bottles in 2020. The next step is to reduce the use of plastic in external operations. Therefore, at the beginning of July, Santander Bank Polska is launching Visa cards made in 85% of upcycled plastic. Starting from September 2021, the Bank’s customers will also be offered eco-friendly Mastercard cards
Santander Bank Polska is aware of its role in delivery of the objectives of the European Green Deal, specifically the reduction of pollution and transition towards a circular economy. That is why our strategy covers all key aspects of environment and climate protection. We are active partners of the Polish Plastics Pact and the 5-Fraction Coalition, the initiatives whose goals are particularly important to us. The launch of eco-friendly payment cards is a big step towards achieving the objectives of our Responsible Banking strategy. It is important to note that we are not going to replace the cards of all our customers at once. The new cards will be offered to the customers who will open a new account or whose cards have expired. This way, the change will be gradual and we will avoid the situation where old cards are thrown away in large numbers.
The eco-friendly payment cards will be launched by Santander Bank Polska in partnership with a global leader in payments technology: Visa.
At Visa, we are committed to embedding sustainability in everything we do – from using 100% of energy from renewable sources for processing our transactions to becoming carbon neutral. We also support our partners in issuing payment cards made of recycled materials and plastic-free virtual cards. The partnership with Santander Bank Poland is another step towards achieving our goal, which is to advance inclusive and sustainable growth.
New design
The new sustainable cards will have an entirely new design. The standard horizontal format will be replaced with the modern vertical one. The front of the card will only include the Bank’s logo, indication of the type of the card and the name of the payment organisation. All other details will be printed on the back of the card. The new cards will also feature a small notch on the side to make them easier to use for blind and partially sighted people.
Santander Bank Polska customers will be able to check the new card design via Santander internet or digital portfolios. It will be available in the mobile app at a later stage.
More details on products and services, fees and charges and interest rates can be found at santander.pl.
