TreeCard, a free eco-friendly debit card that will channel profits from merchant transaction fees (“interchange fees”) directly to tree planting in areas of the world threatened by deforestation, has opened its waiting list for it’s brand new wooden debit card.
TreeCard, scheduled to launch early 2021, is completely free for users and will dedicate 80% of its profits from interchange fees directly to reforestation initiatives. The company estimates that for every £45 spent with their new wooden debit card, TreeCard will be able to plant and care for a tree to ensure it survives beyond three years in an area threatened by deforestation. The eco-focused FinTech company aims to compete with the likes of Chime and Revolut, eventually providing all the benefits of the neobank experience, while enabling people to take meaningful climate action every day.
TreeCard’s launch is being powered by Ecosia, the search engine that uses advertising revenues to plant trees. To date, Ecosia has planted over 110 million trees, and this tie-up with TreeCard is a logical extension of Ecosia’s fight against the climate crisis. TreeCard will dedicate 80% of its profits to Ecosia’s tree-planting initiatives across the world.
TreeCard is aiming to sign-up 100,000 users of the wooden debit card in the first six months. If this goal were to be achieved and if each user were to deposit and spend half the amount that Monzo users do on average ($500) on their TreeCard each month, TreeCard would be able to plant over 6 million trees in its first year. TreeCard’s wooden debit card will be 100% free to use, with the only financial cost for users being the initial card shipping fee ($3). This charge will be waived for the first 100,000 users.
Jamie Cox, CEO of TreeCard, commented: “The current crop of challenger banks haven’t really changed anything, aside from mildly improved customer services and the digitisation of some elements of the personal finance process, the players are just as profit hungry and eager to become an overbearing monopoly as legacy banks. We’re incredibly grateful to Ecosia, not just for the initial financial backing which has allowed us to get TreeCard up-and-running, but for the strategic partnership which will allow us to have access to credible, established tree planting partners, and the technological advice and support as we launch. We’re looking forward to building TreeCard hand in hand with Ecosia. Working with Ecosia, we intend to make personal everyday banking an effortless but impactful way for our users to fight climate change.”
From launch, TreeCard’s mobile app will include a home page with an illustrated landscape that allows you to track your tree-planting impact in real time. It will also offer standard features offered by other challenger banks including projected budget per month, in-app spending reports (and breakdown by category – i.e. pubs/restaurants, transport, supermarkets), contactless payments, notifications each time a transaction is made, a bill splitting feature, in-app card management / card freezing, and more.
You can join the waiting list and learn more about TreeCard here.
