Banco Cetelem Brazil will shift 100% of production to sustainable cards

Banco Cetelem Brazil, a credit solutions specialist and member of the French group BNP Paribas, will begin to migrate its card base to more sustainable options beginning in August 2021. The cards will now be produced using recycled PVC, which should reduce the carbon dioxide (CO²) emissions of its operations by 2.7 tons in 2021 and another 5 tons by the end of 2022. The launch joins other initiatives in the company’s range of actions focused on sustainability.

According to Jean-Christophe Coquillaud, Chief Operating Officer of Banco Cetelem Brazil, the initiative is a global trend and comes to reinforce the bank’s commitment to the environment. “Environmental awareness requires dedication, change of habits and processes. That’s exactly what the bank is doing by modifying its entire operation to prioritize actions like this,” he says. The new card is produced from recycled PVC and reduces 3.18 grams of plastic compared to the traditional model without losing quality or durability.

About the transition time, the executive states, “Next year all new cards will be made out of recycled plastic, and within five years, the entire customer base of Banco Cetelem Brazil will be holding a sustainable card.” Aside from reducing carbon dioxide emissions and using recycled plastic, this change also brings benefits such as a reduction in water usage and energy consumption in the production process.

The company has also adopted actions that reduce the use of paper by digitizing processes. Some examples are digital invoicing, loan acquisition and digital card through digital signature, QRcode card contracts and onboarding journey through WhatsApp and SMS, which ensures the delivery of the card to the customer’s address and reduces waste. “These actions of migration to the digital environment directly reflect on paper consumption, which today is approximately 55% lower than three years ago when we started the change,” Coquillaud said.

The initiative comes from a partnership with IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, which supports the environmental paradigm shift of financial institutions through its GREENPAY sustainable payment solutions.

IDEMIA is proud to be part of the environmental commitment made by Banco Cetelem Brazil, which now offers the GREENPAY certified recycled plastic card produced by IDEMIA. With GREENPAY, IDEMIA supports banks in their ecological transformation, reduces the carbon footprint, and offers sustainable solutions to their customers.
Alessandra Wohnrati, head of iDEMIA’s Financial Services Unit in Brazil

Cetelem cards can be acquired from more than 30 partners distributed throughout Brazil from various segments, such as supermarkets, building materials, electronics, among others, and is a leader in the segment of e-commerce partnerships in personal finance in Brazil.