CPI Card Group - Best New Business-to-Business Products

Company: CPI Card Group, Littleton, CO
Entry Submitted By:ICR, Inc.
Company Description: CPI Card Group is a leading provider in payment card production and related services, offering a single source for credit, debit and prepaid debit cards including EMV chip, personalization, instant issuance, fulfillment and mobile payment services. Serving customers from 10 locations throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K., CPI has the largest network of high security facilities in North America.
Nomination Category: New Product & Service Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Business-to-Business Products

Nomination Title: CPI Card Group's Earthwise™ High Content Card

If this is a brand-new product, state the date on which it was released. If this is a new version of an existing product, state the date on which the update was released: June 16, 2020

CPI Card Group®, a leading provider of payment solutions with a rich history of expertise in card manufacturing and production, continues to innovate in the fight against plastic waste – this time by reusing post-industrial plastic that might otherwise have entered landfills. In 2020, CPI launched the Earthwise™ High Content Card, the first of its kind, to help reduce first-use plastic in payment cards and reduce plastic waste from entering the environment, following its introduction in 2019 of the first payment card featuring a core made with recovered ocean-bound plastic.

The Earthwise™ High Content Card is an industry-leading card – the first dual interface contactless capable card to feature up to 98 percent upcycled plastic, dependent on design, for a more sustainably produced payment product.

The Earthwise™ High Content Card is produced using rPETG – a type of upcycled plastic. “Upcycled” is defined as the act of taking something no longer in use and giving it a second life and new function. Leveraging its manufacturing strength and innovation, CPI was able to achieve a payment card that combines post-industrial rPETG with the essential, non-plastic components, including the EMV chip, antenna and adhesives, to create a card containing up to 98 percent upcycled plastic, depending on the final card design for each particular issuer. The card pushes the boundaries of card materials, while demonstrating what is possible in manufacturing to reduce first use plastic in payment cards.

In a CPI survey conducted by an independent research firm, 91 percent of debit and credit cardholders indicated they are “concerned” about plastic waste in landfills. What’s more, 73 percent of respondents indicated that it is important that their financial institution is environmentally-conscious. Earthwise™ offers the opportunity to serve a growing market of consumers interested in more sustainably and responsibly sourced products, with the card being available to financial card issuers as well as companies in transit, hospitality, entertainment, retail gift and more.

Introduced in June 2020, the Earthwise™ High Content Card is the first of its kind. The global launch was an exclusive offering to clients and cardholders of one of the major payment brands – marking the first time the payment brand has proactively reached out to a partner to develop a financial card made with more sustainable materials to meet increasing interest from their issuers and consumers.

The provided links include the Earthwise™ High-Content Card page on CPI’s website, the press release announcing the product (as well as a repost of the news by Sustainable Brands), and highlights from media coverage of the product launch.

EMV® is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries and an unregistered trademark elsewhere. The EMV trademark is owned by EMVCo, LLC