The climate-friendly debit card and app by ekko is making waves in the fintech sector.

Consumers can now effortlessly do more on their part for the environment, through routine actions like shopping, banking, or paying bills. This is the start of a world where every transaction equals a positive reaction.

As the first UK fintech to join MasterCard Priceless Planet Coalition, ekko combines marketplace, open banking, and retail into one transformative app, to help consumers make a tangible, visible difference to climate change. 

Sustainable spending: How easy is it to be environmentally friendly? 

Many consumers agree that climate change is a pressing issue, and want to do more to shop sustainably, and be eco-friendly in their everyday lives. In fact, 

• 77% of us want to learn how to live more sustainably 

• 81% of us prefer to buy from sustainable sellers

• Protecting the environment is a top priority for Millennials and Gen-Z

That said, when it comes to sustainable spending and habits, people often have good intentions but find it easier said than done, are forgetful, or don’t know how best to help. Some might even feel that adopting a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle is:

Overwhelming?

With so much we could be doing differently to tackle climate change, some people may feel overwhelmed and confused about how they can help.

In Deloitte’s 2021 study on sustainability and consumer behaviour, out of those who chose not to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, 15% said it is because they lack enough information. And 8% feel it is too complicated and difficult. 

Does racking up lots of air miles, or using your car frequently, for example, offset the other environmentally friendly things in everyday life such as reducing plastic, food waste and buying eco-friendly products? 

These questions are hard to answer and can mean people worry that they aren’t doing enough, leading them to give up altogether.

Expensive?

As many as four in five consumers think it costs more to purchase from eco-friendly and green brands. This is often true, as sustainable, ethical products often cost more to source and produce. 

Although Accenture’s study found that more than half of consumers are willing to pay more for products designed to be reused and recycled, some consumers might struggle to justify making changes if it will hurt their bank balance. 

Time consuming and inconvenient?  

The effort consumers need to put into researching and finding eco-friendly brands, which are not always available in larger or popular stores, might be enough to deter them from making changes. 

In the Deloitte study mentioned earlier, 10% of those unwilling to make sustainable changes said it was specifically because it is inconvenient, and 8% said it is too time-consuming. 

ekko plans to make this part easier with the launch of its marketplace of sustainable products and services. 

But still, all of these feelings can lead to anxiety and/or inertia about embracing lifestyle changes, and the role we play as individuals in the climate change emergency. 

Doing more (with less) for the environment 

Taking action to tackle climate change isn’t about perfection. It’s not always about grand gestures, either. Sustainability is often about the small, everyday choices we make to ensure we do all our bit to help.

These small changes to our lifestyles can add up to big, positive impacts on the environment.

With an ekko card, people can make a difference not just with what products they buy, but how they make purchases and transactions too…

With every tap of the ekko card, consumers can take a simple, powerful step in the right direction to tackle climate change. And it requires little effort on their part. Win-win.

Planting trees with transactions 

So, how does ekko help the environment? Well, to start, every fifty transactions pay for a tree to be planted. A coffee here, a tree there… It's an easy way to offset your carbon footprint.

Consumers may wonder why every 50 transactions? This is because our trees are planted and maintained for a minimum of five years, to ensure they survive and grow into adult trees. It costs ekko more this way, but it is the right thing to do for the environment. 

Through our partnership with the Mastercard Priceless Planet Coalition, this ensures a sustainable growth programme focused on restoring forests in some of the most vulnerable geographies. 

Ocean-bound bottle collection

Another huge issue and focus for climate change is plastic in our oceans. Through our partnership with the award-winning Prevented Ocean Plastic, ekko helps turn the tide on this issue. 

Every five transactions with the card means an ocean-bound plastic bottle is collected and recycled instead. And the size of the transaction doesn’t matter either. So the little things really do add up.

Track your positive contributions and impact 

Through these two initiatives, consumers can start to change the world without doing much differently. The app also lets people: 

• Track their positive change contribution

• Watch as their tree planting and bottle collection counts increase

• Monitor their carbon footprint via a carbonmeter linked to bank transactions

• See the impact they’ve made with their bottles collected and trees planted 

Join the ekko card waitlist

The ekko card will be launched to its first customers later in 2021. This is on a first-come first-serve basis, so the sooner you join the waitlist, the better! Follow the link to sign up to the ekko card waitlist.