The monitoring of personal behavior by banks will take another step forward as Canadian credit union Vancity launches a new credit card technology to report users’ carbon emissions.
On Oct. 19, Vancity announced that it will be “the first financial institution in Canada to offer its individual and business members a way to estimate the CO2 emissions that come from their purchases.” Vancity said its carbon counter, which is attached to Visa credit cards, was developed with ecolytiq, one of Europe’s leading climate engagement technology companies.
This will be the first carbon counter program for Visa holders. Mastercard already provides a CO2 emissions-tracking card, developed with technology from Swedish company Doconomy. The Visa credit card technology developed by ecolytiq also provides “education and behavioral nudging” so that card users are not only informed about the CO2 emissions of their buying activity but also told how to reduce them….