Finance & Investment

Mastercard, Doconomy Launch the Future of Sustainable Payments

DO is a free, easy-to-use mobile banking service that lets users track, understand and reduce their CO2 footprints through carbon offsetting.

Published 5 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: Doconomy

Mastercard has partnered with fintech startup Doconomy to help consumers combat climate change through their purchases with a new app called DO – a free, easy-to-use mobile banking service that lets users track, understand and reduce their CO2 footprints through carbon offsetting.

Alongside tools such as the blockchain-powered Poseidon platform, now in use by Ben & Jerry’s and the City of Liverpool to help users offset the carbon impacts of their purchases, the launch of DO is the latest in a growing arsenal of purpose-driven payment services. With DO, users can create positive change anywhere they use their card.

By implementing DO, Mastercard and Doconomy let users’ values guide their everyday consumption towards more sustainable choices and enables carbon offsetting via UN-certified projects. As part of the service, DO offers the ability to invest in funds with a positive social and environmental impacts — giving the consumer insights into the environmental effects of their consumption, paired with tools for creating change by making sustainable choices.

“Together with Doconomy, we can engage consumers, retailers and businesses in the fight against climate change. This collaboration is an important part of our focus on sustainability, and this innovative solution offers people a simple way to take responsibility for their carbon footprint, based on what they consume,” commented Mark Barnett, Divisional President of Mastercard UK, Ireland, Nordic and Baltics.

In addition to offering users to make their consumption more sustainable, customers can also apply for the physical, climate-friendly and biodegradable DO Mastercard payment card. The first-of-its-kind card, which is printed with recycled carbon emissions (Air-Ink) and with no magnetic strip, is the most tangible payment service offering in the global effort to meet SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

Founded in 2018 as both a fintech startup and a philosophy about how we can use our money as a tool for positive climate action, Doconomy's vision is to enable a sustainable lifestyle for everyone by providing simple mobile banking services that can change behavior, manage savings and reward a development towards sustainable consumption. Doconomy uses the Åland Index, developed by Ålandsbanken, to track the impact of every transaction.

“Via Mastercard’s global network, Doconomy can reach and leverage the power of consumers all over the world and direct capital towards sustainable initiatives. For us, there is no partner better suited than Mastercard, given their sense of purpose and leading technical expertise,” says Nathalie Green, CEO at Doconomy.

DO has attracted attention from some of the world’s most prominent actors. The United Nation’s UNFCCC-secretariat wants to explore a collaboration with Doconomy and Mastercard to promote climate action and awareness among citizens and organizations globally.

“DO represents a new and interesting way of bringing climate action directly to the consumer, which is one of our strategic objectives in our work on Global Climate Action,” says Niclas Svenningsen, Manager of Global Climate Action at UNFCCC.

The DO app will become available in April.