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The 2020s have been dubbed the “decisive decade” for increasing climate cooperation.
We are already seeing the consequences of climate change in shifting weather systems all over the planet. When it comes to the organizations in which investors, consumers, and workers want to be part, decarbonisation has become a higher priority.
The majority of big, established organizations now report on environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and more investors are prioritizing it. People are starting to grasp and concentrate while picking which companies to purchase at, bank with, or work for.
Traditional physical money and cards are extremely unsustainable; minting coins generates carbon emissions, which are compounded by the emissions generated by the production of polymer plastic bank notes and bank cards each year.
Plus the power required to keep ATMs operational at all times, as well as the 11 billion receipts printed in the UK alone each year, most of which include BPA and BPS, rendering them non-recyclable, it all adds up to a very unsustainable and harmful method of exchanging products and services.
All of this indicates that altering the way we pay can have a significant beneficial influence on our society’s carbon emissions. Not only that, but providing a sustainable payment alternative has the ability to:
Empower individuals to take control of their carbon emissions in their daily lives through tiny, cumulative improvements.
Collect data that leads to insights into how people spend, resulting in new investments in goods and services that benefit the bottom line, people, and the planet.
Allow payment organizations to be market leaders and changemakers, pushing for a more people-centered business model and way of life.
Payment services that prioritize environmental and social aspects, for example, can play an important role in promoting investment and molding the future. Citizens who are empowered and understand the reasons for making more socially and ecologically conscious selections are more inclined to think creatively and make other more sustainable choices.
Individuals who believe they have no option and cannot make a difference in the face of our planet’s present massive problems are more prone to freeze and make less sustainable decisions. Giving your customers the opportunity to feel as if they are making the world a better place every time they pay for groceries will have far-reaching benefits beyond reducing carbon emissions, with the potential to help create more focused, positive human beings who can see the differences their small actions can make.
Computop is one example of a fintech company that uses alternative payment methods. Since 2020, the firm has been a Leaders for Climate Action member, and it is devoted to regional and worldwide environmental and climate protection efforts. When the company showed me its first carbon balance, it was evident that its power use and company automobiles had a significant influence on its carbon footprint. And they learn more with each each carbon footprint balance calculation.
Computop also provides “climate-neutral payments,” which allow businesses to demonstrate their commitment to environmental and climate protection at the moment of sale.
“A lot of work must be done to build up and implement a viable sustainable climate protection plan,” said Computop’s communication director, Henning Brandt. Not just from the start, but all the time: for example, the communication department collects statistics on CO2 emissions every year and tries to persuade employees, customers, and partners to become involved in climate protection through various initiatives such as Time for Climate Action Week.
“Furthermore, we are constantly searching for innovative ways to lower our carbon impact. As a result, we have assisted in the promotion and implementation of programs such as job bicycles, e-company automobiles, and our founding participation in the Green Software Design Community.”
“For Computop, climate protection means not just becoming active as a company, but also getting workers, customers, and partners on board and bringing about change together – since this is the only way sustainable climate protection can work,” added his colleague Stephanie Schwarzendorfer.
“As a result, the communications department is critical in providing a link between management and the many stakeholders. That is why we established the Green Payment People staff group, for example. Employees may express themselves and discuss opinions about climate protection here. We, as the communications staff, then relay this information to our management team.”
Virtual cards and mobile wallets are growing increasingly popular, with several challenger banks now offering them in addition to standard bank cards. So there are answers to the problem of carbon emissions payments. There is precedence and public interest for challenger banks to discover methods to bank that are both healthier for the environment and more convenient for customers.
The advantages of an alternative payments market are enormous. Alternative payment systems can assist to promote a more sharing-based economy in which items are re-used, re-loved, and rented, and the data-driven insights obtained can be leveraged to design better strategies for accomplishing people, planet, and economic goals.
People in the fintech sector are driven to disrupting the current quo, creating new and better ways to do business, and taking action that inspires others to become changemakers.
Finding a more sustainable way to make payments is a way to become industry leaders, bringing change that people can incorporate into their daily lives – simple, positive action that will motivate them to do more and showcase the impact they can make.
