ekko, an innovative new app, debit card and ecosystem that turns the tide on climate change, has today launched in the UK with a strategic partnership with Mastercard. The launch comes as new research from Mastercard shows two in five Brits (43%) see reducing their carbon footprint more important now than pre-pandemic.

In a first of its kind proposition, ekko has taken existing business models and transformed them into a driver for good by combining fintech, marketplace, open banking and retail into one transformative app that makes it effortless to make a tangible difference to climate change, without the consumer needing to do anything different.

ekko customers can go about their daily lives as they usually would, shopping, buying a coffee or paying bills and their good vibes will echo around the world. Using the iconic ekko debit card, every 5 transactions a customer makes will pay for one plastic bottle being collected before it enters our oceans and every 50 transactions will pay for a tree to be planted by the customer.

Customers can track their own personal forest, how many bottles they’ve collected and even monitor their own personalised carbon footprint using their Carbonmeter in the ekko app. It also gives customers access to a curated list of sustainable partners, offering climate-friendly goods and services as part of the wider ‘enviroconomy’.

ekko have partnered with Mastercard to launch the debit card and will become the first UK fintech to join the Mastercard Priceless Planet Coalition, launched last year with a commitment to plant 100 million trees by 2025.

The team have big ambitions and together aim for ekko customers to plant over 50m trees and prevent over 500m bottles entering our ocean over the next 5 years.

The waitlist is now open, with ekko issuing its first cards in June on a first come first serve basis. Potential customers can join the waitlist at ekko.earth

Oli Cook, co-founder and CEO of ekko said “We’re excited about launching ekko today. We knew that to make a difference we needed to re-write existing models and build a new eco-system that made it effortless to make a real and tangible difference. We needed to create something where every one of our customers can see what they themselves are doing to help climate change, without actually needing to do anything different."

“With Mastercard’s support, we’re positive about the future and the impact our customers can have on the world.”

Scott Abrahams, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Mastercard UK & Ireland added “At Mastercard we are focused on building a future that is both more inclusive and more sustainable, and we are thrilled to have been chosen by ekko to partner with them as they make it easier for people to make a difference to the environment while going about their everyday lives. By embedding sustainability into every transaction, we can empower even more consumers to better understand the impact of their purchases and turn that into meaningful action for the planet.”

The ekko card will be issued by fintech and regulated e-money services provider Paynetics.