Papers and cars have generated more than 15,000 tons of plastic in recent years in Brazil, according to a study
New technologies, such as a 100% digital digital card and ‘Tap to Pay’, which turns smartphones into machines, are ripe and can help eliminate the use of plastic in payments.
Cards and cars have generated more than 15,000 tons of plastic in recent years in Brazil (Photo: Getty Images)
In the last 10 years, approx 450 million credit and debit cards and 95 million cars were produced in Brazil. This represents a plastic volume of over 15 thousand tons, equal to 14 times the weight of Christ the Redeemer.
The estimate, based on data from the Central Bank (CB), shows that, despite having one of the most sophisticated banking systems in the world, we need to More aggressive initiatives to reduce the use of plastic in the payments sector. This is one of the highlights of the Dinheiro Sem Plástico report, launched by the consultancy O Mundo Que Quero, with the support of InfinitePay, the financial services platform of the Brazilian fintech CloudWalk.
According to the Dinheiro Sem Plástico report, in a row, the cards issued in Brazil in the last decade would be able to go around the planet a little more than at the equator. The area occupied by cards and machines together is equivalent to 20 Maracanã stadiums. More than 20 million cars were produced in Brazil in 2022 alone, an increase of 494% over the 2012 total.
OR plastic can take more than 600 years to degrade and is already found on the bottom of the oceans and in breast milk. In addition to waste, its production fuels the climate crisis, as more than 99% of its components come from the fossil fuel industry.
However, despite the warnings of the scientific community and the efforts of the United Nations (UN), which is preparing a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution, the world continues to produce millions of tons of material every year. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that the social and environmental costs of this rampant production reach $1.3 trillion.
“We have the opportunity to take the lead in this recovery, as we have one of the most sophisticated financial systems in the world”, reads the text of the report, recalling that the the environmental impact caused by papers and machines in recent years can be avoided with the use of technologies which are already available to the majority of the population, given that a large part of the transactions in Brazil are already digitized.
The study suggests as evidence the rapid adoption of Pix in Brazil In the last few years. Last year alone, according to data from Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), 163.3 billion bank transactions were carried out through Pix. The next natural steps, according to the analysis, would be the adoption of 100% digital cards, present in digital wallets and the popularization of “Tap to Pay” technology, which turns smartphones into machines. These are innovations that are becoming popular alongside contactless payments.
A survey conducted in July by the Instituto Datafolha at the request of Abecs, an association representing the electronic means of payment sector, reveals that 54% of Brazilian consumers they often make contactless payments using their card, mobile phone, watch or other device.
The Fintech of machines proposes the end of machines
InfinitePay, a financial services platform that has a vending machine among its products, is taking a stronger stance on the challenge of eliminate all plastic from your payments. To raise industry awareness and inspire change, the company is launching “End Plastics in Payments: An Invitation to Rethink Our Use of Plastics and Start Building That Sustainable Future Now.”
The main action of the company in this regard is InfiniteTap – a technology that allows you to “turn smartphones into machines.” To do this, simply download the free InfinitePay application and start receiving approximate payments, without the need to purchase additional devices. “Since 2019, when we developed our first InfinitePay machine, we knew it was a transitional technology and would eventually disappear. Something similar has happened with the simplest digital cameras or GPS devices: both replaced by smartphones,” explains Luis Silva, Founder and CEO of CloudWalk.
As you still see this transition movement, the company still produces plastic machines, but these already have 30% recycled raw material. Furthermore, the company has always invested in the use of cards only in digital format, saving the issue of plastic cards. “We believe that the future of payments can be faster, more sustainable and more democratic and that we can accelerate that change with the technologies we already use every day. That’s why we decided to lead the movement to end the use of plastic in systems of payment . ”
The initiative shows how Brazil can be the protagonist of this transformation of the financial system. “Eliminating these materials indicates the path we must follow to continue living on a livable planet. We must think of services and products that generate business and offer people quality of life, replacing physical objects with digital goods, which do not require the extraction of matter raw material of nature. This virtuous transition is called dematerialization of the economy,” says Alexandre Mansur, director of projects at Mundo Que Quero. “Removing plastic and machinery from the financial system is one of those opportunities to reduce a significant environmental impact without requiring major changes in people’s lifestyles and with gains in economic efficiency for the country,” he adds.
Source: Terra
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