Global payments technology company Visa announced today the launch of Visa Eco Benefits in Asia Pacific, providing banks in the region with a suite of sustainability-focused features for their Visa cardholders, aimed at helping them to better understand and address the environmental impact of their day-to-day spending.

Visa introduced the Eco Benefits package in 2021, available initially in Europe. The rollout followed a pledge by the company to become “Climate Positive”, with plans to launch initiatives to support sustainable commerce and the transition to a low-carbon economy beyond the company’s own footprint.

According to Visa, the Asia Pacific rollout comes amidst strong demand by consumers in the region for sustainability-focused solutions. According to a new Visa/YouGov survey, 66% of consumers in the region expect their banks to offer eco-friendly payment solutions and over half said they would switch banks in order to gain access to a product or service that helps them understand the carbon footprint of their spending.

Chris Clark, President, Asia Pacific, Visa said:

“The majority (78 per cent) of people in Asia Pacific said they are more likely to make more environmentally friendly purchases if they’re able to see their carbon footprint and take steps to change their spending habits.” 

The Eco Benefits suite includes a carbon footprint calculator, with insights offered by global payments innovations company Verrency, enabling cardholders to understand the estimated carbon footprint of their spending, and provides the ability for cardholders to offset their carbon footprint from projects in areas such as forestry and clean energy. Other features include charitable contributions to environmental organizations that can be triggered when cards are used and access to personalized education on sustainable consumption. Visa also said that its physical payment cards will be made from sustainable materials.

Clark added:

“Eco Benefits is another way that Visa is expanding our network beyond payment transactions to deliver more insights to our partners and their customers.”