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It's contactless! It's compostable! Danish bank to issue biosourced NFC smartcards

The new cards — from Gemalto's Optelio range — are manufactured from a corn-based material that is 100 percent biodegradable and carbon neutral.

April 3, 2015

Coop Bank Denmark has partnered with digital security provider Gemalto to deploy biosourced contactless EMV cards in the first commercial rollout of its kind, a Gemalto press release said.

The new cards — from Gemalto's Optelio range — are manufactured from a corn-based material that is 100 percent biodegradable and carbon neutral, while maintaining the ability to accept high quality artwork solutions. Made from poly lactic acid, a plastic substitute, the card is compostable and nontoxic if incinerated, according to the release.

International payment associations have approved the contactless chip-embedded card, Gemalto said. This summer, the card also will incorporate the Danish national payment scheme, Dankort. Under a multiyear agreement, Gemalto is providing the bank with comprehensive artwork, production and fulfilment services.

"Having already deployed the first ever biosourced EMV cards from Gemalto's Optelio range, it is a natural step for Coop Bank to also launch the first dual interface version of the product," said Charlotte Skovgaard, managing director of Coop Bank Denmark. "We hope this will set a new global environmental standard for the banking industry."

"The environmental awareness in Denmark is high and people are expecting environmentally friendly products in every part of their life, including banking," said Philippe Cambriel, Gemalto President for Europe, the Mediterranean and CIS. "This new deployment will also help to familiarize Coop Bank's customers with completing transactions with nothing more than a tap, paving the way for even more exciting developments such as mobile payments."