ekko becomes first globally to issue Thames Technology’s eco-friendly financial card

Thames Technology is delighted to announce its partnership with ekko, the latest member of Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition, as it becomes the first fintech globally to use Thames Technology’s recycled plastic debit cards.

ekko is the transformative app, debit card and ecosystem that re-writes existing models and makes it effortless to plant your own forests and prevent plastic from entering our oceans without the consumer doing anything different. Using the ekko debit card, every five transactions a customer makes will pay for one plastic bottle to be collected before it enters our oceans, and every 50 transactions will pay for a tree to be planted.  Alongside their banking, customers can track their personal forest, bottle count and personalised carbon footprint in the ekko app.

With the support of its partners, the company has ambitious plans: it aims to plant over 50 million trees and prevent over 500 million bottles entering the oceans over the next five years.

Having launched its Eden Range of sustainable card materials in 2020, Thames Technology was in the optimal position to support ekko’s philosophy. Its Revive card; an environmentally-friendly card made of recycled PVC core and bio-gradable PVC overlay, was the perfect choice for ekko’s new iconic ‘good vibes’ debit card, alongside fully recycled and recyclable packaging, ensuring ekko’s own environmental impact was minimal from the very outset.  

Equally, Thames Technology is committed to reducing its impact on the environment, actively working on making its operations and supply chain the greenest in the card production industry.

With the new card set to launch in June, ekko’s speed to market is testament to the collaboration of Thames Technology’s industry partners Paynetics, GPS and Mastercard, who worked together to ensure the project has moved at pace. 

Angela Davies, Head of Financial Sales at Thames Technology, commented:

“As soon as we spoke to the founders at ekko, we knew our businesses were a great fit. Our business commitment to sustainability during 2020 resulted in the launch of a range of PVC alternatives for both our financial and retail clients, and the ekko debit card will be our first Mastercard branded card using an Eden Range product to hit the market”.

“With full end-to-end UK card production and personalisation, our own carbon footprint is minimal, and our lead times are the quickest in the industry, so working with ekko and our partners on this ground-breaking eco-inspired launch has been a real pleasure.”

Oli Cook, Co-Founder and CEO of ekko, said:

“We’re delighted to become the first globally to provide the Thames Technology recycled cards to our customers. In working with them, we have found a partner who truly understands what we’re building for our customers and a business that has a like-minded view on how financial and consumer services can do their bit to turn the tide on climate change.”

Amanda Harrison VP, Head of Business Development, at Paynetics, said:

“We’re proud to collaborate with Mastercard, Global Processing Services and Thames Technology. The launch of ekko in the UK market is a testament to our technology partners working together to champion Fintech for Good and the positive sustainability of our planet.”