From today, it is possible to hand over any expired payment card at the branches of our largest bank. The bank will then take care of their eco-friendly disposal or recycling. At the same time, Slovenská sporiteľňa begins to issue environment-friendly cards only and extends their validity from 3 to 4 years. This will contribute to reduction of raw material consumption too. These cards achieve biodegradability level of up to 99% in organic compost. Clients can get the new eco card with the new George design together with an account for one year for free and with EUR 60 as a bonus.

It is estimated that 5.5 million payment cards are currently used in our country, which totals up to 27 tons of plastics. Until recently, these tons of plastics often ended up in normal garbage bins and subsequently in waste dumps or incinerators. And since the card does not contain only plastics, but a magnetic strip and a chip as well, their disposal was not friendly to the environment at all. Slovenská sporiteľňa therefore decided to commence collecting, recycling or eco-friendly disposing of payment cards, regardless of the issuing bank.

“In spite of a significant increase in payments by mobile phone or smart watches, traditional payment cards still represent the main method of paying for many people. We have therefore decided to introduce environment-friendly payment cards of the new George design. Our customers will get them automatically with a new account. If they open their account online, via George, they will get it for free for one year and can even get EUR 60 as a bonus,” explains Juraj Barta, Head of Digital & Daily Banking Division at Slovenská sporiteľňa.

George allows customers to add their payment card to Google Pay or Apple Pay even before the card is physically available to them. This means that it is possible to use the card for paying immediately after opening the account. Thanks to the innovative digital Moneyback feature, the customers are eligible to obtain reward from their favourite retailers when paying by a card, mobile phone or smart watch.

Work of art from crafting plastics! Studio

Collection containers for expired payment cards that are located in all 205 branches of the bank have been produced using the 3D printing technology from biodegradable plastics. They have been designed by crafting plastics! Studio. You can hand over any expired payment card, disregarding the issuing bank.

Learn more: https://www.ucet.sk/ekokarty (SK)