16 ms·

TreeCard: The wooden debit card that plants trees

88 points by ivanmaeder 6y ago

soupson 6y ago
“We also use suppliers such as social media companies and search engines in order to advertise the launch of our Services. We may share your email address or device ID with these suppliers.” I will not get this card because their privacy policy does not align with my values.
newhaus1994 6y ago
Love the design but debit cards always feel a bit dicey to use.
- slekker 6y ago
  Why dicey?
  - derwiki 6y ago
    In my experience, harder to dispute fraudulent charges.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    They don't have the same legal protections for their use. There's hardly ever any reason to use a debit card over a credit card.
    - Symbiote 6y ago
      In the EU, there are lower charges for the merchant when a debit card is used. Sometimes, this results in a small charge for using a credit card. (Note that TreeCard is an English company, where they have inherited this cost difference.)
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        > Sometimes, this results in a small charge for using a credit card. That's not the way it's been for years - it became illegal in the UK to do this a while ago.
        jsjohnst 6y ago
        > That's not the way it's been for years If it’s a Visa or MC backed card, it’s always been against their merchant policies to surcharge a CC and merchants can lose their ability to process cards if they do. It definitely hasn’t stopped merchants from doing it though (in the US mainly, but have seen it elsewhere too).
      - jsjohnst 6y ago
        > In the EU, there are lower charges for the merchant when a debit card is used. This is definitely the case in the US. The fees vary between different acquiring banks, merchant gateways and cards, but generally they follow a pattern similar to the following: CC - $0.25 + 1-4% of the transaction amount Debit - $0.25 - 0.50 and no percentage
    - TeMPOraL 6y ago
      Better secured and you're using the money you have vs. taking a loan? I ditched my CCs as soon as debit cards could be reliably used for on-line purchases. And AFAIK, the no.1 personal finance advice is "stop using CCs". I'm in Europe, though. That may be an European thing.
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        > you're using the money you have vs. taking a loan? Why would you want to use the money you have when you can take a free loan until the end of the month? A free loan means you can keep your own money invested or otherwise working more efficiently for you somehow. > the no.1 personal finance advice is "stop using CCs" I've never seen this - I see 'use CC's more to build up your credit'. I use my cards religiously and have near perfect credit based on I think basically on this alone as it's the only credit I use beside my mortgage.
        briandear 6y ago
        The problem is that most people lack discipline and run up debt. Using CCs is fine if you are extremely disciplined. Dave Ramsey made a career out of teaching “normal” undisciplined people how to avoid and eliminate debt and that includes the advice of “never ever use credit cards or get loans.” A 15 year home mortgage with 20% or more down is the only acceptable debt in his eyes. (And that’s because human nature often leads people into debt, not because of any mathematical basis.) For the majority of “normal” people, he’s right.
        throwaway201103 6y ago
        We don't spend nearly enough time in primary and high school teaching practical personal finance. For many people that could be the single most important life skill they learn in 12 years of education.
        elric 6y ago
        > Why would you want to use the money you have when you can take a free loan until the end of the month? Because it's usually not free. Most banks charge some fee for providing a credit card. Debit cards are completely free with most banks.
    - capableweb 6y ago
      This is location dependent though. A easy way to see if someone is from the US, is if they advice you to prefer credit cards rather than debit cards. Meanwhile in Europe, there is no reason to have a credit card instead of debit. On the contrary, it's more risky to have a credit card rather than debit as on debit cards the limit for overdraft is usually way lower than how much someone could spend with your credit card. I'm 30+ and never owned a credit card, nor had any reason to get one.
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        > in Europe, there is no reason to have a credit card instead of debit There concrete reasons to use one in Europe (at least where I live): It's a month's free loan - why spend your own money when you can keep it invested or otherwise working for you for a month first for free? Consumer credit law is still stronger for paying on credit than on debit. I used to fly transatlantic first class once a year for free based on just my credit card rewards. I'm not some unusually high earner either. What possible reason is there to turn that down?
        capableweb 6y ago
        Yeah, where I live you have exactly the same protections using credit card vs debit cards. Credit cards here don't usually have good rewards either. If you spend 10000 euros you might get 10 back in the end of the year, hardly something to hurrah for. Sometimes they give you a free TV if you open up a bank account with the bank and change to the bank to receive your monthly salary, but that's about it. So don't really have any reasons to use a credit card instead of a debit, as I only spend money I have anyways. If I remember correctly, banks here also always give you a debit card when you sign up with them, while credit cards have to be applied for separately and also usually has a yearly fee, compared to debit cards that are free.
        chrisseaton 6y ago
        What do you think about the argument about it allowing you to keep your money invested for longer? Say you're ordering something large like a car. You can pay the deposit on a debit card, and lose access to the money immediately, or you can pay on a credit card, and keep your money invested for another month or so, still earning you money, until you need to settle. A credit card gives a consumer liquidity. I don't think it's an unusual economic concept to say that liquidity is useful and helps you use your money more efficiently.
    - lol768 6y ago
      This depends upon the geographical location and indeed, the amount you're spending. I'd definitely use my Amex for items over £100 (for Section 75 protection) but under that amount my understanding was that you're reliant on the (voluntary) chargeback scheme which I can use with my bank and debit card too. So the only thing you really gain for the smaller purchases is the money not leaving your account with the CC, I think?
    - jasonv 6y ago
      Not relevant since people use debit cards all day long.
    - elric 6y ago
      It's strange to me that legal protections vary per payment method where you're from. If you bought something defective, warranty should cover it. If your flight gets cancelled, there's probably some kind of consumer protection in place. If you were robbed or defrauded in some way, there's laws and protections against that as well. Some CCs come with insurance over here, but those are just that: insurance.
- fullstackchris 6y ago
  Yeah looks great but a combined credit or debit card would be better.
rishidevkota 6y ago
I waited for this for long but never hear back.
eatonphil 6y ago
How it works: > No. Zero fees. TreeCard will be 100% free to use. > Every time you use your TreeCard, Mastercard processes the transaction and charges merchants (online and physical stores) a small fee. This is a standard fee paid by all merchants to1 accept card payments. We'll use that fee to plant trees. I'm confused though. Surely this fee Mastercard charges goes to Mastercard, not the card company? https://www.treecard.org/how-it-works https://www.treecard.org/how-it-works
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  How do you think card companies make money at the moment? In exactly the same way - you buy something, the merchant is charged a fee, the payment provider takes a cut, the card company gets a cut. Sometimes they pass some of this cut on to the customer as well (the cashbacks and rewards.)
  - eatonphil 6y ago
    It's the wording that confuses me. It would make sense if the card company were responsible for paying a fee to Mastercard on each purpose. That way they could increase that fee and take the difference. But the way this is worded (and I suppose it must be how it works) it means that Mastercard charges a fee and you have an agreement to take some of that fee from Mastercard on each transaction. Just seems a little backwards.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      > But the way this is worded (and I suppose it must be how it works) it means that Mastercard charges a fee and you have an agreement to take some of that fee from Mastercard on each transaction. Just seems a little backwards. I don't really see why that's backwards? The mechant pays for a service (accepting card payments) from Mastercard. Mastercard take some of that fee and give it to the card provider so they can cover the costs of running your card, such as their website and phone lines, or in this case planting trees as well. Where's the backwards bit?
codingdave 6y ago
I like the concept, but so many questions -- Who is behind this? As in, what bank? If it is a debit card, I have an account somewhere holding my money. Is it insured? Is this just a branded card from an existing bank, or is this a new organization? Is this even real, or just another "build a landing page to see if there is interest"? "How it works" needs to answer the financial side of this product, not just what percentage of profit goes to trees.
- jsjohnst 6y ago
  > Is this even real, or just another "build a landing page to see if there is interest"? My guess is somewhere in the middle, but leaning closer to the latter. The reason the backing bank isn’t disclosed is likely it’s not fully regulatory approved yet based on some wording they used. Simple did a similar thing if memory serves when they launched.
- avianlyric 6y ago
  Tree Card probably have an e-money licence. They’ll have a backing bank that actually holds the money, and probably another company that manages the card. They’ll be required to keep that money in a custodial account with their backing bank, so Tree Card will have no ability to operate a fractional reserve, or use their clients money for operating purposes. Their banking bank is probably required to make sure they’re following the rules. If Tree Card go bust, then your money will be safe (Tree Card can’t really touch it), it it’ll probably take some time to recover it from their backing bank. If the backing bank goes bust, then I’m not sure what happens. But I think the custodial status of the account should offer some protections. But again it’ll take a while to get your money back. Oh, and finally, there e-money license probably makes it very difficult to explain this. If they said something like “your money is as well protected as in an FSCS (U.K. government bank account protection) protected account” they would probably get told off by the regulator, because the protection isn’t the same.
fumblebee 6y ago
We’re fast moving away from physical cards being necessary. With the ubiquity of Apple / Google Pay, the TreeCard feels like a gimmick more than a solution.
- throwaway201103 6y ago
  Maybe. I personally don't use those payment systems; I don't have any desire for Apple or Google to have that kind of direct individual insight into my spending.
Tomte 6y ago
This is associated with Ecosia. It actually gives me more confidence in the product. I used to be on the fence regarding Ecosia (probably just the usual Internet cynicism), but I came around to thinking they are a force for good.
Nbox9 6y ago
Ecosia, the company backing TreeCard, has a search engine that plants trees. Ecosia has claimed to have planted 116M trees. Several environmentalists have come out in support of the product — and specifically in support of the way Ecosia uses partners to plant trees on Ecosia’s behalf and the way Ecosia keeps their partners accountable. I personally will have a hard time saying good-bye to my credit card rewards. However I think the wooden card might have a viral aspect because people will want to comment on how unique the design is. This looks like another great product by Ecosia, and I hope that they continue to make competitive products that plant trees. It’s also worth noting that while planting trees is very good for the environment, it is not a silver bullet against climate change. Previous hacker news discussion about Ecosia. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19324766 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19324766
- klyrs 6y ago
  > It’s also worth noting that while planting trees is very good for the environment, it is not a silver bullet against climate change. Not buying things is better for the environment. Projects like this are brimming with good intention but are little better than salve for consumer guilt.
  - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
    Yeah but objecting to every attempt to do good because, it doesn't go far enough! Is a recipe for doing nothing.
    - klyrs 6y ago
      A card that leaks crude oil on every purchase would be more effective (if ridiculous from an engineering/logistical perspective) -- salves for consumer guilt aren't merely not doing enough, they're enabling the behavior that's doing the most harm.
      - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
        This credit card doesn't enable anything that wasn't already enabled. That argument is similar to 'what-about-ism' where irrelevant objections about another subject are injected as if they follow from the premise.
dwighttk 6y ago
I think I’d rather get 1.5% (or whatever I can get) back and donate that to my chosen program instead of paying these guys all that percentage to then turn around and donate less of it to their chosen program.
- gnicholas 6y ago
  Yeah, with Fidelity and Citi offering 2% back, it's hard to see how this card would have a bigger impact. I think the main difference is conspicuous virtuosity — every time you get the card out to pay, it shows everyone around you what a 'good person' you are.
rahimiali 6y ago
I tried to sign up for their wait list but gave up after entering my real name, a fake date of birth, and a fake phone number, which means I couldn't get their verification code. I understand asking for demographic info to prioritize a wait list, but that's not what they're asking. why do they need all this info for a wait list of a service they don't yet provide? this doesn't inspire confidence.
wackget 6y ago
Do the trees that they plant actually grow into full-sized adult trees or are they planted but never cared for? That's a huge issue which apparently affects many of these tree-planting schemes.
Hamuko 6y ago
>World's first wooden debit card. I have my doubts considering Säästöpankki has offered debit cards made out of birch years ago. https://paperijapuu.fi/viilua-vinguttamaan/ https://paperijapuu.fi/viilua-vinguttamaan/ https://twitter.com/HaveMik/status/913800152644759553 https://twitter.com/HaveMik/status/913800152644759553
VoxPelli 6y ago
Is it just me who dislike being incentivized like this to do something? By having someone do a totally unrelated donation to charity when I do something? I much rather do X because X itself is good than because X will have someone do Y and have me consider X to be good because Y is good. It is essentially green washing, no matter how well intended it is or how good X in itself is. Doing some totally unrelated donation is essentially PR, where one instead could lower prices and have me myself donate that money. (Also, credit card charges are insane and almost amount to stealing a percentage of all sales from businesses. Debit cards are better in that they, at least in Sweden, have a fixed low rate that doesn't change if someone buys for a lot or a little)
- darawk 6y ago
  The problem is that far fewer people will donate without something like this. If you want to use a traditional cash back credit card and donate the rewards directly to something, the existence of this card does not stop you from doing that. Some people find it easier to donate in this way, and I don't see what's wrong with that.
zaxpr 6y ago
just curious if there is any similar project to save existing old trees? planting new trees is nice but losing existing "old" trees is killing our environement from urban to global scale...
qwerty456127 6y ago
BTW are mechanical imprinters which need the embossed numbers still supported by any banks? The last time I seen one was more than a decade ago. I actually love offline analog tech, it would seem cool to me if they are, but I doubt so.
Raidion 6y ago
I would have signed up for the trial, but I don't see why I have to add my email, name, DoB, and phone number. Why isn't email good enough?

88 points by ivanmaeder 6y ago

“We also use suppliers such as social media companies and search engines in order to advertise the launch of our Services. We may share your email address or device ID with these suppliers.” I will not get this card because their privacy policy does not align with my values.

newhaus1994 6y ago

Love the design but debit cards always feel a bit dicey to use.

slekker 6y ago
Why dicey?
- derwiki 6y ago
  In my experience, harder to dispute fraudulent charges.
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  They don't have the same legal protections for their use. There's hardly ever any reason to use a debit card over a credit card.
  - Symbiote 6y ago
    In the EU, there are lower charges for the merchant when a debit card is used. Sometimes, this results in a small charge for using a credit card. (Note that TreeCard is an English company, where they have inherited this cost difference.)
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      > Sometimes, this results in a small charge for using a credit card. That's not the way it's been for years - it became illegal in the UK to do this a while ago.
      - jsjohnst 6y ago
        > That's not the way it's been for years If it’s a Visa or MC backed card, it’s always been against their merchant policies to surcharge a CC and merchants can lose their ability to process cards if they do. It definitely hasn’t stopped merchants from doing it though (in the US mainly, but have seen it elsewhere too).
    - jsjohnst 6y ago
      > In the EU, there are lower charges for the merchant when a debit card is used. This is definitely the case in the US. The fees vary between different acquiring banks, merchant gateways and cards, but generally they follow a pattern similar to the following: CC - $0.25 + 1-4% of the transaction amount Debit - $0.25 - 0.50 and no percentage
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    Better secured and you're using the money you have vs. taking a loan? I ditched my CCs as soon as debit cards could be reliably used for on-line purchases. And AFAIK, the no.1 personal finance advice is "stop using CCs". I'm in Europe, though. That may be an European thing.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      > you're using the money you have vs. taking a loan? Why would you want to use the money you have when you can take a free loan until the end of the month? A free loan means you can keep your own money invested or otherwise working more efficiently for you somehow. > the no.1 personal finance advice is "stop using CCs" I've never seen this - I see 'use CC's more to build up your credit'. I use my cards religiously and have near perfect credit based on I think basically on this alone as it's the only credit I use beside my mortgage.
      - briandear 6y ago
        The problem is that most people lack discipline and run up debt. Using CCs is fine if you are extremely disciplined. Dave Ramsey made a career out of teaching “normal” undisciplined people how to avoid and eliminate debt and that includes the advice of “never ever use credit cards or get loans.” A 15 year home mortgage with 20% or more down is the only acceptable debt in his eyes. (And that’s because human nature often leads people into debt, not because of any mathematical basis.) For the majority of “normal” people, he’s right.
        throwaway201103 6y ago
        We don't spend nearly enough time in primary and high school teaching practical personal finance. For many people that could be the single most important life skill they learn in 12 years of education.
      - elric 6y ago
        > Why would you want to use the money you have when you can take a free loan until the end of the month? Because it's usually not free. Most banks charge some fee for providing a credit card. Debit cards are completely free with most banks.
  - capableweb 6y ago
    This is location dependent though. A easy way to see if someone is from the US, is if they advice you to prefer credit cards rather than debit cards. Meanwhile in Europe, there is no reason to have a credit card instead of debit. On the contrary, it's more risky to have a credit card rather than debit as on debit cards the limit for overdraft is usually way lower than how much someone could spend with your credit card. I'm 30+ and never owned a credit card, nor had any reason to get one.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      > in Europe, there is no reason to have a credit card instead of debit There concrete reasons to use one in Europe (at least where I live): It's a month's free loan - why spend your own money when you can keep it invested or otherwise working for you for a month first for free? Consumer credit law is still stronger for paying on credit than on debit. I used to fly transatlantic first class once a year for free based on just my credit card rewards. I'm not some unusually high earner either. What possible reason is there to turn that down?
      - capableweb 6y ago
        Yeah, where I live you have exactly the same protections using credit card vs debit cards. Credit cards here don't usually have good rewards either. If you spend 10000 euros you might get 10 back in the end of the year, hardly something to hurrah for. Sometimes they give you a free TV if you open up a bank account with the bank and change to the bank to receive your monthly salary, but that's about it. So don't really have any reasons to use a credit card instead of a debit, as I only spend money I have anyways. If I remember correctly, banks here also always give you a debit card when you sign up with them, while credit cards have to be applied for separately and also usually has a yearly fee, compared to debit cards that are free.
        chrisseaton 6y ago
        What do you think about the argument about it allowing you to keep your money invested for longer? Say you're ordering something large like a car. You can pay the deposit on a debit card, and lose access to the money immediately, or you can pay on a credit card, and keep your money invested for another month or so, still earning you money, until you need to settle. A credit card gives a consumer liquidity. I don't think it's an unusual economic concept to say that liquidity is useful and helps you use your money more efficiently.
  - lol768 6y ago
    This depends upon the geographical location and indeed, the amount you're spending. I'd definitely use my Amex for items over £100 (for Section 75 protection) but under that amount my understanding was that you're reliant on the (voluntary) chargeback scheme which I can use with my bank and debit card too. So the only thing you really gain for the smaller purchases is the money not leaving your account with the CC, I think?
  - jasonv 6y ago
    Not relevant since people use debit cards all day long.
  - elric 6y ago
    It's strange to me that legal protections vary per payment method where you're from. If you bought something defective, warranty should cover it. If your flight gets cancelled, there's probably some kind of consumer protection in place. If you were robbed or defrauded in some way, there's laws and protections against that as well. Some CCs come with insurance over here, but those are just that: insurance.
fullstackchris 6y ago
Yeah looks great but a combined credit or debit card would be better.

rishidevkota 6y ago

I waited for this for long but never hear back.

eatonphil 6y ago

How it works: > No. Zero fees. TreeCard will be 100% free to use. > Every time you use your TreeCard, Mastercard processes the transaction and charges merchants (online and physical stores) a small fee. This is a standard fee paid by all merchants to1 accept card payments. We'll use that fee to plant trees. I'm confused though. Surely this fee Mastercard charges goes to Mastercard, not the card company? https://www.treecard.org/how-it-works https://www.treecard.org/how-it-works

chrisseaton 6y ago
How do you think card companies make money at the moment? In exactly the same way - you buy something, the merchant is charged a fee, the payment provider takes a cut, the card company gets a cut. Sometimes they pass some of this cut on to the customer as well (the cashbacks and rewards.)
- eatonphil 6y ago
  It's the wording that confuses me. It would make sense if the card company were responsible for paying a fee to Mastercard on each purpose. That way they could increase that fee and take the difference. But the way this is worded (and I suppose it must be how it works) it means that Mastercard charges a fee and you have an agreement to take some of that fee from Mastercard on each transaction. Just seems a little backwards.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    > But the way this is worded (and I suppose it must be how it works) it means that Mastercard charges a fee and you have an agreement to take some of that fee from Mastercard on each transaction. Just seems a little backwards. I don't really see why that's backwards? The mechant pays for a service (accepting card payments) from Mastercard. Mastercard take some of that fee and give it to the card provider so they can cover the costs of running your card, such as their website and phone lines, or in this case planting trees as well. Where's the backwards bit?

codingdave 6y ago

I like the concept, but so many questions -- Who is behind this? As in, what bank? If it is a debit card, I have an account somewhere holding my money. Is it insured? Is this just a branded card from an existing bank, or is this a new organization? Is this even real, or just another "build a landing page to see if there is interest"? "How it works" needs to answer the financial side of this product, not just what percentage of profit goes to trees.

jsjohnst 6y ago
> Is this even real, or just another "build a landing page to see if there is interest"? My guess is somewhere in the middle, but leaning closer to the latter. The reason the backing bank isn’t disclosed is likely it’s not fully regulatory approved yet based on some wording they used. Simple did a similar thing if memory serves when they launched.
avianlyric 6y ago
Tree Card probably have an e-money licence. They’ll have a backing bank that actually holds the money, and probably another company that manages the card. They’ll be required to keep that money in a custodial account with their backing bank, so Tree Card will have no ability to operate a fractional reserve, or use their clients money for operating purposes. Their banking bank is probably required to make sure they’re following the rules. If Tree Card go bust, then your money will be safe (Tree Card can’t really touch it), it it’ll probably take some time to recover it from their backing bank. If the backing bank goes bust, then I’m not sure what happens. But I think the custodial status of the account should offer some protections. But again it’ll take a while to get your money back. Oh, and finally, there e-money license probably makes it very difficult to explain this. If they said something like “your money is as well protected as in an FSCS (U.K. government bank account protection) protected account” they would probably get told off by the regulator, because the protection isn’t the same.

fumblebee 6y ago

We’re fast moving away from physical cards being necessary. With the ubiquity of Apple / Google Pay, the TreeCard feels like a gimmick more than a solution.

throwaway201103 6y ago
Maybe. I personally don't use those payment systems; I don't have any desire for Apple or Google to have that kind of direct individual insight into my spending.

Tomte 6y ago

This is associated with Ecosia. It actually gives me more confidence in the product. I used to be on the fence regarding Ecosia (probably just the usual Internet cynicism), but I came around to thinking they are a force for good.

Nbox9 6y ago

Ecosia, the company backing TreeCard, has a search engine that plants trees. Ecosia has claimed to have planted 116M trees. Several environmentalists have come out in support of the product — and specifically in support of the way Ecosia uses partners to plant trees on Ecosia’s behalf and the way Ecosia keeps their partners accountable. I personally will have a hard time saying good-bye to my credit card rewards. However I think the wooden card might have a viral aspect because people will want to comment on how unique the design is. This looks like another great product by Ecosia, and I hope that they continue to make competitive products that plant trees. It’s also worth noting that while planting trees is very good for the environment, it is not a silver bullet against climate change. Previous hacker news discussion about Ecosia. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19324766 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19324766

klyrs 6y ago
> It’s also worth noting that while planting trees is very good for the environment, it is not a silver bullet against climate change. Not buying things is better for the environment. Projects like this are brimming with good intention but are little better than salve for consumer guilt.
- JoeAltmaier 6y ago
  Yeah but objecting to every attempt to do good because, it doesn't go far enough! Is a recipe for doing nothing.
  - klyrs 6y ago
    A card that leaks crude oil on every purchase would be more effective (if ridiculous from an engineering/logistical perspective) -- salves for consumer guilt aren't merely not doing enough, they're enabling the behavior that's doing the most harm.
    - JoeAltmaier 6y ago
      This credit card doesn't enable anything that wasn't already enabled. That argument is similar to 'what-about-ism' where irrelevant objections about another subject are injected as if they follow from the premise.

dwighttk 6y ago

I think I’d rather get 1.5% (or whatever I can get) back and donate that to my chosen program instead of paying these guys all that percentage to then turn around and donate less of it to their chosen program.

gnicholas 6y ago
Yeah, with Fidelity and Citi offering 2% back, it's hard to see how this card would have a bigger impact. I think the main difference is conspicuous virtuosity — every time you get the card out to pay, it shows everyone around you what a 'good person' you are.

rahimiali 6y ago

I tried to sign up for their wait list but gave up after entering my real name, a fake date of birth, and a fake phone number, which means I couldn't get their verification code. I understand asking for demographic info to prioritize a wait list, but that's not what they're asking. why do they need all this info for a wait list of a service they don't yet provide? this doesn't inspire confidence.

wackget 6y ago

Do the trees that they plant actually grow into full-sized adult trees or are they planted but never cared for? That's a huge issue which apparently affects many of these tree-planting schemes.

Hamuko 6y ago

>World's first wooden debit card. I have my doubts considering Säästöpankki has offered debit cards made out of birch years ago. https://paperijapuu.fi/viilua-vinguttamaan/ https://paperijapuu.fi/viilua-vinguttamaan/ https://twitter.com/HaveMik/status/913800152644759553 https://twitter.com/HaveMik/status/913800152644759553

VoxPelli 6y ago

Is it just me who dislike being incentivized like this to do something? By having someone do a totally unrelated donation to charity when I do something? I much rather do X because X itself is good than because X will have someone do Y and have me consider X to be good because Y is good. It is essentially green washing, no matter how well intended it is or how good X in itself is. Doing some totally unrelated donation is essentially PR, where one instead could lower prices and have me myself donate that money. (Also, credit card charges are insane and almost amount to stealing a percentage of all sales from businesses. Debit cards are better in that they, at least in Sweden, have a fixed low rate that doesn't change if someone buys for a lot or a little)

darawk 6y ago
The problem is that far fewer people will donate without something like this. If you want to use a traditional cash back credit card and donate the rewards directly to something, the existence of this card does not stop you from doing that. Some people find it easier to donate in this way, and I don't see what's wrong with that.

zaxpr 6y ago

just curious if there is any similar project to save existing old trees? planting new trees is nice but losing existing "old" trees is killing our environement from urban to global scale...

qwerty456127 6y ago

BTW are mechanical imprinters which need the embossed numbers still supported by any banks? The last time I seen one was more than a decade ago. I actually love offline analog tech, it would seem cool to me if they are, but I doubt so.

Raidion 6y ago

I would have signed up for the trial, but I don't see why I have to add my email, name, DoB, and phone number. Why isn't email good enough?