Singapore’s digital bank Trust has teamed up with French multinational company Thales to introduce the island state’s inaugural Ocean Plastic payment card.
It is designed to cater to a diverse customer base, including environmentally-conscious consumers, with approximately 70% of its composition being ocean plastic sourced from Parley for the Oceans, a global environmental organisation and network.
Thales’ Ocean Plastic payment cards are crafted using PET, a type of plastic recovered from coastal areas, with each card equivalent to about one discarded plastic bottle.
The manufacturing process takes place at Thales’ DIS Manufacturing Competence Centre in Singapore. These cards are fully certified by payment schemes and adhere to green manufacturing processes, including ISO 14001 and 50001 certification standards, ensuring minimal environmental impact from resource consumption to disposal.
Launched in September 2022, Trust Bank was formed through a partnership between Standard Chartered and FairPrice Group which has a full bank license. The digital bank has rapidly grown to serve over 600,000 customers within a year.
“With Thales’ sustainable innovations in banking cards, we are delighted to collaboratively bring to life the first Ocean Plastic payment card in Singapore.
As a digital bank with a core value of ‘Build to Sustain’, we hope to continue pioneering more sustainable solutions that reduce our environmental footprint,”
said Hasan Khan, Head of Credit Card & Lending, Trust Bank.
“Thales is proud to support Trust as they provide their customers a sustainable payment card.
Coupled with Thales’ contactless banking technology and cybersecurity, the cards offer a seamless payment experience to consumers, while helping Trust contribute towards cleaner oceans. We look forward to further collaboration with them in the coming years.”
said Nassir Ghrous, Vice President, Thales Banking and Payment Services, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.