UK-based digital banking group Starling Bank announced on Monday it is introducing a recycled plastic debit card to support its efforts to protect the planet. According to the fintech, the Mastercard debit card to be made from recycled plastic (rPVC), and the material, which makes up 75% of the card, is notably sourced from EU industrial waste from printing and packaging industries.
“The new rPVC cards will reduce demand for new plastic production. Each kilo of rPVC will replace its equivalent of new PVC in the market, with two kilos of CO2 being saved for each kilo of the material used. Only 25% of the card is made up of unavoidable non-recycled elements, including the card’s chip and magstripe.”
Starling Bank also reported that its new cards mark another sustainable step forward for the bank, which recently became a founder signatory of the TechZero group.
“Along with 14 other high growth tech companies, Starling Bank joined the ‘Tech Zero taskforce’ to help tackle the climate crisis and make the UK the top global destination for green investment. Last year the digital bank, which is branchless and paperless, started planting thousands of trees to help improve forest protection.”
While speaking about the cards, Anne Boden, CEO and Founder of Starling Bank, stated:
“The environment is important to our customers, so launching a recycled plastic debit card was the right thing to do. This new card comes with no deterioration in technical quality or capability, it simply supports people in their journey to become more green. We’re proud to be a branchless, paperless bank that runs on renewable energy. And now we’re delighted that we’re building on this with our new recycled cards.”
The launch of Starling Bank’s latest card comes just days after the banking group secured £272 million in capital via a Series D funding round led by Fidelity Investments. Starling revealed at the time it now reports a £1.1 billion pre-money valuation.
