Sustainable Cards Can Give Smaller Issuers a New Way to Differentiate
By David Longobardi
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Beginning in 2028, Mastercard will require all newly produced plastic payment cards on its network to use more sustainable materials, including recycled or bio-sourced plastics.
At first blush, this would seem to be nothing more than an operational concern. However, insights from public sentiment and other data sources suggest smaller financial institutions may be able to use the shift to better connect with their customers.
According to Bain, overall urgency around sustainability has softened somewhat from 2021 peaks amid inflation and economic anxiety, but four in five consumers still say they care deeply about sustainability, while 80% believe their individual choices make a difference — a slight increase from the previous two years.
Financial industry research puts a finer point on it. A payment card is one of the few physical products a financial institution puts directly into accountholders’ hands. And physical cards remain highly relevant: 91% of consumers in a Vericast survey said they are either “critical” or “important” to them, while 60% said the sustainability of card materials matters to them.
Key insight: For financial institutions, Mastercard’s timeline may present an opportunity to reconsider how card materials support their broader sustainability goals, and what that might mean for product positioning, marketing, and messaging. Along the way, they might also want to address some persistent assumptions about sustainable cards themselves — including concerns about cost, quality, and compatibility with existing issuance processes.
A Sea Change?
Mastercard’s 2028 deadline marks a significant industry milestone in a process that began when the network launched its Sustainable Card Program in 2018. By the time the association announced the mandate in 2023, more than 330 issuers in 80 countries had already signed on voluntarily. Beginning Jan. 1, 2028, all newly produced Mastercard plastic payment cards must use approved recycled or bio-sourced materials and receive Card Eco Certification.
Visa has moved in the same general direction without announcing a comparable network-wide transition date. And large global banks have also moved independently toward sustainable plastic. HSBC, for example, began rolling out recycled-PVC cards across 13 markets that year; and Bank of America committed in 2022 to converting its entire plastic debit and credit portfolio to at least 80% recycled material.
Key insight: These efforts are part of a broader evolution in consumer-facing bank sustainability, as the industry’s emphasis has broadened toward products with more concrete financial use cases: For smaller issuers, sustainable cards now offer a relatively accessible way to join that movement.
Devil in the Details?
Sustainability initiatives can run into trouble when they require consumers to deal with tradeoffs in quality or pricing. For that reason, recycled plastic cards might raise concerns among issuers. The physical card remains a highly tactile expression of the institution’s brand, and even a relatively modest change in material raises questions about what cardholders — and the institution itself — might have to give up.
In practice, however, the transition to sustainable materials involves fewer compromises than many issuers may expect.
1. Will sustainable cards look or feel different?
Not necessarily. Cards still must meet payment-network specifications for dimensions and thickness, and recycled PVC or recovered ocean-bound plastic can closely replicate the feel of conventional PVC. Color quality can also remain comparable, depending on the material and construction selected. “If you were holding one in your hand, it would be very likely that you wouldn’t tell the difference,” said Nicole Machado, Vice President of Card Solutions at Vericast, in an interview with The Financial Brand.
2. Are they as durable as traditional PVC cards?
Sustainable cards must pass the same association quality requirements before they reach the market, said Lorie Haddad, Implementations Manager of Card Solutions at Vericast. Recovered ocean-bound plastic has also performed particularly well in durability testing, in some cases exceeding standard PVC, she said.
3. Will issuers have to compromise on design?
Material choice can affect some specific design options. But issuers retain substantial flexibility around color, matte or satin finishes, and branding, said Joshua Hatcher, Sr. Graphic Designer for Card Solutions at Vericast. Some products do impose limits on treatments such as clear, foil or metal effects, making design requirements one factor to consider when selecting a material, Hatcher said.
4. Will sustainable cards work with existing payment technology?
Yes. The recycled and recovered-plastic products discussed here support EMV chipped cards and contactless functionality just as conventional payment cards do. And for institutions that have invested in branch-based instant issuance, the switch likely will not require new equipment or a different process, Machado said. Both recovered ocean-bound plastic and upcycled post-industrial plastic cards are compatible with instant-issuance equipment.
5. Will they cost more?
That depends largely on the full card specification, including the material selected, order quantity, and ink requirements. Some recycled-PVC options can be priced in line with conventional PVC, while recovered ocean-bound plastic generally carries a premium reflecting the additional collection and processing involved. That makes cost less a simple sustainable-versus-conventional calculation than a choice among different sustainable materials and the objectives they serve, said Machado.
From Compliance to Differentiation
If the operational tradeoffs are relatively modest, the more interesting question is what an institution can gain by leaning into the transition or even accelerating it by choice — as a way to distinguish itself.
Key insight: “Beyond just making the switch to a sustainable card, the bigger question is, what’s the strategy behind it?” Machado said. “Are you doing it because it’s part of your mission and go-to-market, and you intend to do a focused campaign around it?” In her experience with Vericast clients, once they decide to go sustainable, they do so for their entire portfolio — with or without an association mandate — rather than for a niche-market product.
Consumer demand gives that opportunity some substance. In the Vericast / Dynata survey, more than half of all respondents (54%) said knowing their card was made from sustainable materials would improve their perception of their bank or credit union, rising to 60% of Millennials and 64% of Gen Z. And 47% said they would be more likely to choose a financial institution that offers sustainable card options over one that does not.
None of that means a recycled card will suddenly become a primary driver of account acquisition. But it does suggest that a product every cardholder already receives can carry additional meaning without asking the customer to adopt a new behavior or buy a specialized “green” product. For community banks and credit unions in particular, that meaning can also be shaped around the market they serve. A coastal institution, for example, might find a natural connection to recovered ocean-bound plastic; institutions serving communities where conservation or outdoor recreation figures prominently may find other locally resonant ways to frame the choice.
Material selection can become part of the positioning decision. Recycled PVC can offer a relatively straightforward way to reduce first-use plastic, while recovered ocean-bound plastic supports a more specific story about material removed before it enters waterways. And if ocean-bound plastic carries a higher cost, that premium may be justified in context of a program’s environmental positioning. “How does an individual feel about ensuring plastics aren’t getting in the waterways? For some clients and some people, that’s worth it,” Machado said.
Bottom line: The opportunity only matters, of course, if cardholders know about it. Sixty-one percent of Vericast survey respondents said they are interested in learning how their financial institution is reducing its environmental impact. That creates room for issuers to explain what their cards are made from, quantify the environmental impact where credible data are available, or incorporate the message more subtly through card design and certification marks.
