Similar to Treecard, Ecosia simply uses pre-existing commercial infrastructure to generate funds, in their case from online ads. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Ecosia operates innovative sustainability projects of its own, including an online search engine that funds tree planting efforts across the globe. According to Treecard, 80 percent of their interchange fees will go to reforestation projects led by Ecosia. Usually, this fee goes into the coffers of the card issuing company, but with Treecard the funds are diverted elsewhere.
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While the Treecard will be free for users, they plan to make money using so-called “interchange fees”, the payments made by merchants, both online and instore, to a card issuing bank in exchange for allowing card payments.
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It can be used for transactions in stores or online, or linked to Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay.
In fact, if you want to improve your sustainability footprint even further, you can forgo a physical card entirely, and sign up for a digital card linked to various payment apps.įor potential user of Treecard, it essentially functions in exactly the same way as a Chime or Revolut prepaid debit card – meaning you can link your bank account to the app and top up your TreeCard in that way. Treecard claim that a single tree can produce up to 300,000 cards. In an effort to help reduce plastic waste, the card is made from sustainable cherry wood – reportedly in a world first – meaning each card has its own unique wood grain effect. Even the card itself sports some environmental credentials. Treecard is a new Mastercard bank card and associated app which claims to plant trees as you spend cash on your normal everyday purchases. With so many consumers now switching to cashless – and in some cases even cardless payments – a new partnership has emerged to make the process better for the environment. It will harness open banking for its UK customers’ deposit services.When it comes to paying for products and services, it’s clear that cash has been dethroned and card is now king for many – a trend that has only been hastened by the coronavirus pandemic. TreeCard will be partnering with fintech platform Synapse, a back-end technology provider for banking and financial services, to connect with users in the US. The company will provide challenger bank services like spending alerts, in-app card management, and bill splitting. It claims to have no hidden fees, and no greenwashing. People who register before 1 December will receive a free wooden card as soon as TreeCard launches. Users are able to reserve their cards now with the US likely to be the first launch location. If, in the meantime, ethical challengers like TreeCard can generate enough interest, the industry will be forced to take a hard look at itself.” by funding fossil fuels – is in dire need of political reform. It states: “we also believe that the financial sector and its ruthless pursuit of profit – e.g.
“We will soon be able to help fight climate change simply by buying a round of drinks in the pub or by doing the weekly shop.”Įcosia explains the reasons behinds its investment into TreeCard. “I’m thrilled that Ecosia users will have another way to contribute to the fight against the climate emergency with TreeCard,” says Ecosia CEO, Christian Kroll. It is obliged to put its profits into climate change initiatives rather than into executives’ pockets. “We approached Ecosia in January about funding because of the synergies and closed the round in the summer.” See also: French firm Idemia launches green cards for banksĮcosia has 15 million users worldwide and is run as a B-corp. “I used Ecosia a lot at university and thought ‘why don’t we make a fintech version of this,'” Cox tells Business Insider. Other founders include Peter Francis, who recently raised $250,000 for refugee camps across Lebanon and Iraq, and James Dugan. Partnering with Ecosia means that for every £45/$60 spent on the card, the company can plant a tree and care for it for three years through the search engine’s existing network of 38 tree-planting locations worldwide. TreeCard’s donation will come from its interchange fees – the main revenue source for challenger banks – to deforestation initiatives. The debit card will be made in partnership with Mastercard.Įcosia, the search engine, has planted more than 110 million trees.Įcosia notes on its website that TreeCard’s free debit card will use 80% of its profits to plant trees across Ecosia’s reforestation projects. TreeCard aims to launch next year and is made of sustainable cherry tree wood.
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