You’ve probably seen videos of sea creatures tangled up in plastic or turtles with stomachs full of microplastics. It’s a haunting sight to see. But what it really comes down to is how you can help stop the estimated 1 million marine life killed each year from plastic debris in the ocean. In its new announcement today, San Francisco-based startup Unifimoney wants to tackle ocean pollution. Oh, and the company wants to make it easy for you to get involved too.
How the new Unifimoney card helps the environment
Consequently, Unifimoney’s new card will use recovered ocean-bound plastic to produce the core of credit and debit cards. The card, which the company calls ‘Second Wave,’ will be produced by CPI Card Group. According to CPI estimates, “for every 1 million Second Wave payment cards made, over one ton of plastic can be diverted from entering the world’s oceans, waterways, and shorelines.”
Because the payments industry makes over 6.4 billion cards each year, Second Wave could make the card industry think twice about sustainability.
Each time a customer users the card, Unifimoney will contribute to The Ocean Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to reversing the destruction of ocean environments, focusing on ocean literacy and conserving habitats.
Additionally, the card is EMV® compliant (Europay, Mastercard, and Visa) and dual interface capable. UMB Bank will issue the card and Unifimoney will launch the cards this summer.
Why Unifimoney chose to partner with The Ocean Foundation
While a lot of non-profit organizations tackle ocean pollution, The Ocean Foundation stood out to Unifimoney as the ideal partner.
“Part of why we created The Ocean Foundation is that you’re not a marine biologist. You’re not a marine chemist. You’re not a physical oceanographer … not an expert in the interaction of fisheries and villages in Indonesia. But you care about the ocean and you want somebody who will vet these projects, who will vet the science, who will vet the social science, who will vet the politics and risk,” Ocean Foundation President Mark Spalding says.
So after meeting with Spalding, “it became instantly clear that The Ocean Foundation was the organization to partner with,” Unifimoney says in a Medium article posted today.
Demand backed by an independent study
Additionally, the metrics that measure demand for the card appear promising.
According to a CPI Card Group Consumer Insights Study, which was conducted by an independent research firm:
- “96% of those surveyed said they were concerned about the amount of plastic waste making it into the ocean.”
- “83% liked the idea of a card made with plastic that would have otherwise ended up in the oceans.”
- “58% said they would switch financial institutions (if they provided the same services and benefits) to obtain the more environmentally sound card.”
The card’s sustainable concept may also appeal to Generation Z, which controls $44 billion in spending power every year and influences $600 billion more.
