Consumers expect more transparency in the carbon footprint of financial transactions

More and more companies are offering their customers the chance to calculate their ecological footprint using special tools. A recent study by the European open banking platform Tink now shows that 40 percent of Germans would also like to see such tools in the banking sector. For this purpose, 2,000 adults in Germany were surveyed online.

Specifically, people are particularly interested in the environmental impact of banking transactions and the carbon footprint of their own bank account. For example, around 31 percent of respondents would like a central location where they can view the total CO2 emissions of their online bank accounts.

Although interest in carbon footprint calculation tools is growing, only around 27 percent of respondents use such tools. This discrepancy is probably mainly due to the lack of offerings, because so far only a few banks offer sustainability services such as a CO2 calculator.

Even 16 percent of respondents would consider switching banks if it meant they could see the environmental impact of their financial transactions.

Banks have some catching up to do in order to meet the demands of their customers. With easy-to-use carbon footprint analysis tools and transparency about the environmental impact of banking business, customer engagement can be strengthened in addition to customer acquisition. At present, financial institutions basically have the opportunity to take advantage of the current momentum to win new customers for themselves or to strengthen existing customer relationships.

Current trends also show that sustainability services are no longer a niche in the banking business. It is therefore not surprising that large private banks such as Commerzbank or Deutsche Bank already offer CO2 calculators. CURENTIS AG will keep you informed about further changes in the market.