Who remembers that in 2014, Crédit Agricole was experimenting with corn starch-based bank cards? The lack of robustness of this bioplastic had however got the better of the project, and it took seven years for another large French banking network, Crédit mutuel, to communicate again on a so-called “eco-responsible” card by placing it on the stops. bus, an advertisement for a funny card, almost completely white.
This time 86% of the support is recycled plastic. And the sobriety of the visual “Allows an 87.5% ink reduction”, says the bank, who hears “Eventually switch all its production, 4 million cards per year”.
The context is no longer the same as in 2014, environmental awareness has accelerated and card manufacturers, such as Idemia and Thales, now display catalogs supplied with “eco-responsible” products (for the support material, inks, etc.) meeting the reliability criteria of payment networks.
Recycled PVC is popular
Several large banks have therefore followed in Crédit Mutuel’s footsteps or are preparing to do so. Societe Generale thus launched a recycled PVC test in May on one of its “collection” cards and intends to gradually extend it to other cards. Boursorama’s Welcome cards have also been made from recycled PVC since the summer. If other conversions to recycled PVC are announced for the first half of 2022, in particular at HSBC and BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole is considering, “Without date”, a new generation of corn starch or “ocean plastic” cards.
“There is considerable enthusiasm from the banks”, notes Amélie Tournant, head of banking services and payment strategy at Thales, which has delivered around 30 million eco-responsible cards since 2019.
This manufacturer, a pioneer in corn starch cards in 2014, explains that he has since designed “A bio-based card made up of 84% natural materials”, more robust and resistant to time than the old version. And has also developed cards in recycled PVC and plastic recovered on beaches and in the waters.
At Idemia, the focus has been on recycled PVC. “It is part of a circular economy, we reuse an existing material rather than creating a new one”, explains Amanda Gourbault, executive vice-president for activities related to financial institutions. The company, which has recently offered cards with 100% recycled plastic backing, aims to produce more than 50 million recycled PVC cards by 2021 and estimates that by 2022, 20% of the bank cards it receives. product will be in this material. “The progression is dazzling”, rejoices Ms. Gourbault.
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