Results of the EPC poll on the most effective steps to make payments more sustainable

11 January 2023

The two leading answers: “using a mobile device (e.g. mobile phone, smart watch) and for example a digital wallet” (21%) and “opting for a digital receipt (or no receipt) over a paper one” (20%).

During the past two months, the European Payments Council (EPC) invited professionals working in the payments industry to answer the following question: “In your opinion, what are the most effective step(s) to make payments more sustainable”:
The results were as follows: 

The results show a wide range of opinions, but it is worth highlighting the two leading answers: “using a mobile device (e.g. mobile phone, smart watch) and for example a digital wallet” (21%) and “opting for a digital receipt (or no receipt) over a paper one” (20%). Also, over a third of all the respondents voted for one of these answers “reducing the use of cash” (16%), “using a generic device (e.g. mobile phone) as an acceptance device” (13%) or “using a purchase-related ‘carbon footprint’ tracking and reporting tool (e.g. app on a mobile device)” (10%). The remaining voters choose “using banknotes made out of ‘eco-friendly’ materials” (8%), “using a card made out of ‘eco-friendly’ materials” (7%) and “other” (5%). 

EPC

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