Deliver the sustainable payment options customers seek

Consumers are investing in a more sustainable future. And this extends to commerce. From food and fashion to transportation and housing, consumers are scrutinizing their buying habits to reduce their carbon footprint. And they expect businesses to do the same, from the products they sell to the payment options they provide.

Do your part to reduce waste from the buying experience by offering more sustainable digital payment options. In this article, we explore the impacts of both traditional and digital payments on our environment. We then discuss ways you can help consumers—and your business—make more sustainable payment decisions.

Paper or plastic? Neither.

Traditional payment methods include paper (cash and cheques) and plastic (credit and debit cards). Both contribute to waste and pollution, and strip our natural resources.

• The environmental effects of paper production and use include deforestation, large amounts of energy and water and air pollution from production, transportation and disposal. Paper alone accounts for 26% of total waste in landfills.
• Plastic produced from 1950-2017 accounted for 7 billion tons of waste in our landfills. And 14 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. Plastic pollution can alter natural habitats and reduce our ecosystems’ ability to adapt to climate change.

Reducing paper and plastic from the payment experience helps the planet, helps your customers and helps your business.

Help the planet. Digital payments.

Digital payments require minimal resources to produce. And they have a lower environmental footprint when compared to traditional payment methods. Ecological benefits of digital payments include:

• Reduced resource consumption: Digital payments do not require the production of cash, coins or cheques. This saves natural resources like trees, water and metals.
• Less waste: Cash, cheques and cards require disposal once they are retired, canceled or removed from circulation, adding to landfills. Digital payments don’t.
• Lower air pollution: Cash, cheques and cards must be printed or manufactured, then transported to banks or consumers. Digital payments do not require manufacturing and transportation from point to point, helping reduce carbon emissions.

Digital payments have a lower environmental footprint when compared to traditional payment methods.

However, as we shift to a cashless society, there are also concerns about the impact digital payments may have on the environment. While their overall environmental impact is lower than traditional payments, there are some considerations to take into account.

• Electronic waste: Digital payments rely on devices such as smartphones and computers, which require energy and resources to manufacture and operate. Fortunately, 86% of the world’s population already have smartphones, offsetting some of the environmental impacts of digital payments.
• Increased energy consumption: Using digital payments increases the demand for electricity and data centers, which can have significant carbon footprints. Fortunately, sustainable data centers leverage cloud technology to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. (Learn how we’re leveraging cloud technology and reimagining the future of digital commerce.)

Help your customers. Ease and choice.

Digital payments help reduce your impact on the environment. And they offer customers the added benefits of speed and convenience. Here are six ways to help you and your customers remove waste from the payments process.

1. Accept digital wallets

Digital wallets are cashless, cardless and paperless—a clear environmental benefit. And they’re gaining popularity. By 2025, digital wallet users will exceed 4.4 billion globally. Google Pay, Alipay, WeChat Pay and Apple Pay are popular wallets.

A digital wallet is a virtual version of your everyday wallet. Customers load their payment information in advance through an app or browser. Then, when it’s time to check out, they choose a stored card in their digital wallet and then tap or click to pay. (Enable your point-of-sale device to accept contactless payments, and you're ready to take digital wallets.)

Digital wallet users can access their transaction history and make real-time payments from their connected devices—in store or online. Besides payment information, digital wallets can store paperless concert tickets, vaccination information and more.

2. Offer payment links

Payment links use no paper, making your payment process more seamless, convenient and environmentally friendly. And they let you accept online payments in any channel, from anywhere—in person, online or on the go.

Create a payment link through an app or API. Then send your customer the link through social media, email, text, chat and more. Your customers can pay online instantly. It’s that simple. Just send them a link and get paid.

With payment links, you reduce paper and plastic from your payment process. And your customers get a quick, one-click online payment experience—a win-win for everyone.

3. Embrace QR code payments

Quick-response (QR) code payments are another popular digital, contactless payment type that offers a more sustainable payment option. Juniper Research predicts that QR code payments will exceed $3 trillion globally by 2025.

Generate a QR code online or through an app. Then share or publish your QR code on digital ads, social media, your website and more. Customers use their smartphones to scan your QR code to make a quick, seamless online payment.

You can also use QR codes to promote digital coupons, send invoices, provide a direct link to your website and more. And for restaurants, QR code solutions let you publish your menu, enable online ordering and take payments—all online. No paper, no waste.

4. Offer digital billing and invoicing

If you invoice or bill customers—one time or recurring—offer digital invoicing and online payment remittance and encourage your customers to participate. By automating and digitizing your accounts receivable (AR) processes, you save trees and reduce waste. You also improve efficiency, accuracy and convenience.

The average household can save 6.6 pounds of paper and 171 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions by choosing paperless billing.

5. Automate B2B payments

Your business can also go paperless by digitizing your B2B payments with accounts payable (AP) automation. Replacing paper and cheques with digital processes and payments is environmentally friendly. And automation helps you improve accuracy and efficiency, cut costs and better manage your workflow and cash flow.

6. Digitize receipts

Digital receipts are a quick and easy way to reduce your and your customer’s carbon footprint—regardless of how they pay. Customers receive their receipts instantly and can access them at any time on their smartphones or via email. Digital receipts offer a convenient, streamlined customer checkout experience, helping you improve customer satisfaction. Choosing the right POS solution is a great way to start.

Help your business. Accuracy and efficiency.

Digitizing payment processes creates a more sustainable payment experience—for you and your customers. And it benefits your business in several other ways.

• Reduce expenses: Save money on paper, printing and postage by digitizing receipts, invoices, mailers and more. And reduce labor costs by automating once-manual AP and AR processes.
• Improve efficiency and accuracy: Digital payments help speed up payment processing times. And automating and digitizing processes helps reduce errors and improves workflow.
• Enhance security: Digital payments use encryption and other security measures to protect sensitive financial information, helping reduce the risk of fraud and data loss.
• Increase convenience: Digital payments let you take customer payments from anywhere—in person, online or on the go. And you deliver a more convenient payment experience while reaching a wider audience.

A more sustainable future

Digital payments alone won’t solve our global environmental concerns. But as consumers dig deeper into the long-term effects of their spending habits, providing more sustainable payment options can help. And new green banking solutions help consumers “see” their carbon footprint in real time. This technology helps empower them to make more educated decisions about their purchases.

Ready to learn more about sustainable digital payment solutions? Contact us today.

Sustainability at Global Payments

At Global Payments, we’re focused on decreasing our carbon emissions and examining ways to reduce our environmental impact. We’ve highlighted our commitment to sustainability in our Global Responsibility Report.