The vast majority of payment cards shipped globally will feature sustainable materials by 2029, according to new research.

A study from Juniper Research suggests that more than 90 per cent of payment cards will use some form of sustainable material in five years time, up from just 40 per cent in 2024.

Sustainable payment card materials include recycled PVC (polyvinyl chloride), bio-sourced PVC, recycled metal, and sustainably sourced wood.

The study urges card manufacturers to focus on enabling card issuers to transition their cards to more environmentally friendly solutions.

The research also found that card issuers face a challenging task in introducing card recycling across different geographic locations.

Juniper Research said that with bank branches closing and digital-only issuers growing in strength, finding suitable physical locations for recycling points will require partnerships with collection networks.

"Only by working with third-party networks, such as retail locations and post offices, will card issuers be able to reach their customers with effective recycling options," said research author Nick Maynard, Juniper Research. "Even so, the critical challenge will be to convince customers to trust card recycling, given cards feature highly sensitive information.

"This will require stringent security measures, as well as customer education to make a significant difference”.

Banks and card providers have been rolling out a number of schemes over the past couple of years, including Mastercard which partnered with Citizens Financial Group in 2023 to launch sustainable and accessible debit and ATM cards.

The new cards are made using 90 per cent recycled PVC and feature a special notch, known as Touch Card, which improves card recognition for users who are blind and partially sighted.

After rolling out a number of initiatives, including a recycling pilot scheme across 28 branches in 2022, Santander to date has recycled almost one million expired or damaged cards.

The bank said that in 2023, the 4.5 million-plus sustainable cards it issued helped Santander eliminate 22 tonnes of single-use plastic and 360 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

In June last year, HSBC UK and Mastercard launch payment card recycling pilot across eight bank branches.

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