Mashreq taps Visa and Ecolytiq to launch climate banking platform
UAE-based banking group Mashreq is launching a climate banking platform which promises to enable customers to “take control of their personal environmental impact”.
Mashreq launches climate banking platform
Developed in collaboration with Visa and climate engagement fintech Ecolytiq, the platform uses transaction data to produce carbon footprint analytics.
The calculations are personalised on a customer-by-customer basis, aiming to inspire “climate-positive behaviours” and educate recipients on the environmental impact of their spending.
Mashreq’s platform leverages Visa’s Eco Benefits Solution, which the processor developed and launched with its partner Ecolytiq in April this year.
Comprising of a carbon footprint calculator, a rewards scheme for sustainable behaviours, a sustainable card material programme and personalised education for customers, Mashreq has become the first to implement the solution in the MENA region.
Fernando Morillo, Mashreq’s group head of retail banking, describes the platform as “a step in the right direction” to increasing climate awareness, and reaffirms the bank’s belief that it can drive change “through our ability to direct capital flows and provide our clients with solutions that go beyond the realm of financing”.
Saeeda Jaffar, SVP and group country manager for GCC, Visa, says the platform “underscores the urgency and global focus on addressing climate change”, while David Lais, ecolytiq co-founder and managing director, cites education as “a cornerstone solution to address the climate crisis”.
The solution arrives in tandem with COP28, which begins in Dubai next week and for which Mashreq is an official sponsor, while contender Fils has also launched a similar initiative ahead of the UN climate conference.
