SCB launches country's first carbon-neutral credit card

Standard Chartered Bangladesh (SCB) on Sunday came up with a new credit card for millennials, keeping in mind the detrimental effects of future cashless societies and carbon emissions.

This is the first credit card in the Bangladeshi market to be manufactured through a carbon-neutral process and bears the Certified Carbon Neutral logo too.

This unique credit card is designed for the digital-first lifestyle, offering everyday benefits centering around convenient borrowing, digital rewards and self-service capabilities. 

It was informed at the launching ceremony of the card on the day that through this card, up to 15% cashback and up to Tk300-1,000 cashback facility will be available for purchasing goods or services from foodpanda, Daraz, Pizza Hut, Pathao, Netflix, Spotify, and other services.

Naser Ezaz Bijoy, CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said: “Smart cards have been conceptualized by millennials for those who resonate with the mindset of millennials. It supports their digital lifestyle, affinity towards social causes, and aspirational or growth mindset.”

This is the first carbon-neutral card in the market that provides an option to contribute towards community projects that support disadvantaged young people, especially girls and people with visual impairment. It offers privileges against subscription of knowledge and lifestyle websites. Smart Card will evolve based on clients’ behaviour and feedback, he added, thanking Visa Card for being their partner in this initiative.

Sabbir Ahmed, head of consumer, private & business banking at SCB, said: “SCB smart card serves the everyday needs of our young, dynamic client-base with everyday benefits. The unique card caters to our evolving lifestyles, providing great value for money to support our clients' daily spending needs. 

“With the smart card, consumers can earn big and save more through everyday spending. Cardholders can also enjoy the flexibility of interest-free instalment to meet unexpected financial needs or easily finance their purchases,” he added. 

SCB was the first Bank in the country to introduce credit cards. 

The bank was also the first to launch ATMs in Bangladesh to promote alternate channel banking along with internet banking solutions for the retail customers. 

They were also the first to introduce an automated 24-hour call centre. 

The bank said research had been done before the launch of the card. It showed that younger clients prefer simple borrowing features available within their cards. 

They prefer to be serviced digitally and enjoy rewards for digital spend. 

Research has also shown that Covid-19 has changed the consumers’ spending behaviours, with consumers becoming more careful with their expenses while spending more on basics than they did prior to the pandemic.