Solutions that support sustainable financial services
Early on, Crosskey became involved in the field of sustainability for the banking and financial services markets. Together with our customers in the financial industry, for instance banks and card issuers, we have developed services and solutions that have provided support in their work relating to environmental profiling and economic sustainability. We will very gladly do it for you as well.
We provide three examples here on how we can assist you in implementing sustainability as part of your offer vis-à-vis your customer, the consumer.
With our expertise in the field of banking and financial services, we can create the technical solutions within sustainability that best support your unique needs.
The business logic for the Bank of Åland was simple. If one wants to take care of their customers, one also has e to take care of the Baltic Sea. Therefore, in 1997, the Bank took the initiative together with its customers to establish Baltic Sea Project with the focus on facilitating efforts for a healthier Baltic Sea. It launched the Baltic Sea Account (Östersjökontot), a savings account with a good interest rate. Based on customers’ savings balances, the Bank of Åland donates 0.2% to nature conservation and environmental organisations that are affiliated to the Baltic Sea Project. Since its initiation, the Bank of Åland has donated EUR 2,000,000 for purposes related to the promotion of environmental protection based on the account.
Solution
The system support that was constructed meant that for each individual Baltic Sea Account, the Bank of Åland could easily and efficiently manage the processing of dual of interest rates. In the case of the Bank of Åland, this related to the customer interest rate and the interest rate that the Bank of Åland annually donates to the Baltic Sea Project. One could call this a deposit account system with environmental bonus interest.
In 2017, the Bank of Åland launched its award-winning “Åland Index,” which allows customers to measure their environmental impact for each purchase made with the Baltic Sea Card. The carbon footprint is reported in grams and Euros, and is based on particular industry such as fuel, clothing and food.
Linked to the Baltic Sea map
Via the Baltic Sea map, customers can donate to a variety of environmental projects, locally, globally or via changing their consumption patterns.
Stimulate behavioral changes
Donate to environmental projects
At the Online Bank and via the Mobile Bank, the customer can see and learn how significant the environmental impact for each purchase is – which educates the customer concerning their environmental impact during consumption with the credit/debit card. There is also the possibility to support various environmental projects in order to compensate for their impacts on the environmental.
Solution
In collaboration with MasterCard and KPMG, the Bank of Åland has produced a calculation model for how large a carbon footprint a purchase entails, for example, diesel causes a greater impact than vegetables. Crosskey has developed and implemented the solution, which means that the carbon footprint can be calculated and compiled based on the purchase information contained in each individual credit/debit card transaction.
“The Åland Index is a game changer in many layers. It is a brilliant example of social innovation with the potential to communicate and engage in one of the most pressing sustainability issues of our time.”
Doconomy is the company with the DO banking service for people who want to make a difference for climate change. The credit card is linked to the Åland Index, which calculates the carbon footprint for each transaction.
DO-affiliated stores give back to their customers in the form of DO-credits. These can either be donated as a climate change compensation to a UN-certified project or be deposited as a separate savings component in a sustainable mutual fund. In such case, the customers themselves deposit as much as the DO credits are worth.
The framework is Crosskey’s banking system supplemented with the payment card service together with the Åland Index. With Crosskey’s banking system, the customer information and account information can be managed so that customers can have accounts and make payments. Crosskey’s solution makes it possible for Doconomy to offer the consumer the possibility, together with the merchant, to compensate for the products’ carbon footprint.