Do You know? Your credit/debit card on expiry will add up to generate plastic waste, equivalent to 100 Billion polybags, over next 5 years.

But, you CAN change this!

This is what my children informed me the other day.

Welcoming Change this New year, I reach out for your support in realising a resolve taken up by my children- 13 y.o., Jhanak & 9y.o., Poorvansh. 

Non-convinced and failing to understand the rationale for having an expiry date on payment cards, which lead to plastic waste and increased carbon emissions, they delved deeper on the subject. Through their prelim research, proposing this-

Change:

"Physical format of payment (Credit and debit) cards made of plastic should be issued WITHOUT AN EXPIRY DATE.

And during this change transition, there should be a reverse channelising mechanism established to take-back expired payment cards, enabling circularity of materials & avoiding discard of plastic waste into the environment."

Every expired payment card leads to generation of plastic waste and increase in the carbon footprint of banking cards.

Your sign to this petition has the potential to save the environment by avoiding nearly 10 lakh tonnes of plastic waste and reducing the carbon emissions by over 30 lakh tonnes CO2 eq over the next 5-6 years.

Size of the Problem:

As per Nilson Report1, by end Dec 2017, there were nearly 20.48 Billion payment cards in circulation worldwide.

Considering an average validity period of 5 years issued by bankers of such cards, almost all these cards would’ve expired and hence got dumped as waste by end of 2022.

Environmental Impact of this dumped waste:

During last 5 years, nearly 100,000 MT of plastic2 got wasted in form of estimated 20 Billion expired payment cards. This being an equivalent to approximately 100 Billion polybags3 dumped as waste.

And, this does not account for the chips getting wasted as an increasing number of cards contain an IC (Integrated Circuit) to provide additional functionality, interfaces (e.g. contactless) and security.

 In terms of CO2 emissions, the carbon footprint of equivalent number of cards replaced during this period is a humongous 3 million tonnes4 of CO2 eq.

And the problem is growing every passing day

In India alone, number of credit and debit cards in circulation crossed the 1 Billion (100 Crore) mark, by end June 2022. With preference rising towards mode of cashless transactions, this was an y-o-y increase by 25% in credit cards and 2% in debit cards5! 

Non-convincing rationale for expiry date on payment cards

We are not convinced with commonly stated/reported reasons6 for having a fixed validity for payment cards–

1.      Wear-n-Tear: How can one predict when the card gets worn-n-torn? Isn’t it determined by user-based factors? Shouldn’t a new card be issued only when request placed/need felt by the user?

2.      Security: How can one ascertain the security in terms of time-period? Why is the card considered lesser secure after a specific pre-determined date by the banker? How can something inscribed on the card be an anti-fraud measure (unlike an OTP)?Moreover, shouldn’t issuers explore eco-friendly alternatives as anti-fraud and anti-theft measures? In an evolved technological & digital landscape, isn't validity period an outdated measure, a residue of legacy systems worth innovative revamp?

3.      Upgrade: Shouldn’t the customer be given a choice to either upgrade to newer technology enabled card OR keep the current card and avoid waste of a resource? 

4.      Marketing: Why should issuers wait till an expiry date to market new products and services, after all customer is to decide? What is the trade-off between profits of issuers and loss to environment?

We empathise, there would’ve been valid reasons for having a validity period in past, but are they still relevant? Aren’t there any eco-conscious alternatives to enable anti-theft/anti-fraud in an evolved societal, environmental & technological landscape?

Solution is Simple

Every payment card made of plastic should be issued with no expiry date.

While deliberations through multi-stakeholder forums are made to arrive at a ‘balanced & equitable’ solution to this, in interim, there should be a reverse channelising mechanism established to take-back expired payment cards, so as to enable circularity of materials & avoid discard of plastic waste into the environment.

Wouldn't it be a WIN-WIN-WIN shared value proposition for the issuing bankers (cost savings in card renewals), for the people and for the planet (avoiding plastic waste & emissions)?

And you know what? Only 3 global corporations CAN solve over 60% of the problem, as these corporations issue nearly 61% of the general purpose cards in circulation worldwide1.

Request you to either Sign this petition OR share a convincing reason on why this change should not be introduced?

Your valuable input has the potential to kindle change, for ‘our common future’!

Thank you for your patient reading.

A humble change request on behalf of my children - Jhanak & Poorvansh.

Regards,

Khushboo Sharma

 

References:

1.      Nilson report (Oct 2018) - https://nilsonreport.com/upload/issues/1140_0321.pdf

2.      Avg weight of a payment card made of PVC assumed as 5 gm

3.     Avg weight of a polythene bag assumed to be nearly 1 gm

4.      An internal study by ThalesGroup estimates the carbon footprint of a credit card as 150g CO2 eq in LCA across card body material, card manufacturing, packaging & transportation– https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/banking-payment/cards/eco-friendly-credit-card/carbon-neutrality

5.      Economic Times BFSI - https://bfsi.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/financial-services/cards-in-circulation-in-india-hit-1-billion-as-debit-cards-issuances-revive/94677163

6.      Forbes article - https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/credit-card-expiration-dates-what-you-need-to-know/