• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
Danske Bank Quits New Fossil Fuel Financing January 23, 2023
Extreme Warming Ahead Even as Worst-Case Scenarios Grow ‘Obsolete’ January 23, 2023
Notley Scorches Federal Just Transition Bill as Fossil CEO Calls for Oilsands Boom January 23, 2023
IRON OXIDE: New Battery Brings Long-Duration Storage to Grids, 750 Jobs to West Virginia January 23, 2023
BREAKING: GFANZ Banks, Investors Pour Hundreds of Billions into Fossil Fuels January 17, 2023
Next
Prev

Mastercard Solar Payments System Could Serve 625 Million Off-Grid Users

March 25, 2018
Reading time: 2 minutes

Wegmann/wikimedia commons

Wegmann/wikimedia commons

 

Two of the world’s biggest credit card companies are amping up their renewable energy footprints, with Mastercard offering a cheap solar payments option for 625 million people in sub-Saharan Africa with no access to the grid, and Visa promising to convert its global operations to 100% renewables by the end of 2019.

During the Mobile World Congress late last month in Barcelona, Mastercard announced a partnership with M-KOPA, a Kenyan company that supplies solar electricity to three million people. The system will allow M-KOPA customers to make small, daily payments on home solar systems by scanning a QR code from a smart phone, or entering a merchant ID into a feature phone, PC World notes.

  • The climate news you need. Subscribe now to our engaging new weekly digest.
  • You’ll receive exclusive, never-before-seen-content, distilled and delivered to your inbox every weekend.
  • The Weekender: Succinct, solutions-focused, and designed with the discerning reader in mind.
New!
Subscribe

Matt Miller, vice president of new product development for Mastercard’s commerce device team, said the system is intended to make solar a realistic option for households that currently rely on charcoal and kerosene for energy. The payment giant’s Masterpass Quick Response (QR) technology “is currently available in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda and supported by a network of mobile network operators and banks,” PC Magazine writes, “but this marks the first extension of the payments tech into solar.”

“We’re making sure solar payments are easy and seamless and can be explored in many different markets, especially those that are off the grid without access to traditional electricity,” Miller said. “They can procure the panel and pay for it over time without a banking relationship. The Masterpass QR framework allows customers across the globe to participate, and with a technical interface that can be used with everything from a smart phone to a feature phone.”

Visa unveiled its in-house procurement target late last month and announced it was joining the RE100, a global campaign launched in 2014 by The Climate Group and CDP, formerly the Climate Disclosure Project. “We are proud to play a role in driving the adoption of renewable energy,” said VISA CEO Al Kelly. “This announcement is an example of our longstanding commitment to operate as a responsible, ethical and sustainable company, while fostering economic growth.”

Visa “is undertaking a range of initiatives to boost its environmental credentials,” CNBC reports. “These include a composting and recycling program and the use of efficient lighting. The business is also trying to mitigate its transportation impact through the use of public transport subsidies, employee shuttles, and virtual meetings.”



in Africa, Community Climate Finance, Ending Emissions, International Agencies & Studies, Off-Grid, Solar

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

United Nations
Air & Marine

Salvage of $20B ‘Floating Time Bomb’ Delayed by Rising Cost of Oil Tankers

January 27, 2023
67
RL0919/wikimedia commons
Finance & Investment

Danske Bank Quits New Fossil Fuel Financing

January 23, 2023
2.2k
@tongbingxue/Twitter
Ending Emissions

Extreme Warming Ahead Even as Worst-Case Scenarios Grow ‘Obsolete’

January 23, 2023
296

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

EcoAnalytics

Albertans Want a Just Transition, Despite Premier’s Grumbling

January 23, 2023
255
RL0919/wikimedia commons

Danske Bank Quits New Fossil Fuel Financing

January 23, 2023
2.2k
United Nations

Salvage of $20B ‘Floating Time Bomb’ Delayed by Rising Cost of Oil Tankers

January 27, 2023
67
@tongbingxue/Twitter

Extreme Warming Ahead Even as Worst-Case Scenarios Grow ‘Obsolete’

January 23, 2023
296
Weirton, WV by Jon Dawson/flickr

IRON OXIDE: New Battery Brings Long-Duration Storage to Grids, 750 Jobs to West Virginia

January 23, 2023
517
Rachel Notley/Facebook

Notley Scorches Federal Just Transition Bill as Fossil CEO Calls for Oilsands Boom

January 23, 2023
273

Recent Posts

Sergio Boscaino/flickr

Dubai Mulls Quitting C40 Cities Over ‘Costly’ Climate Target

January 24, 2023
90
hangela/pixabay

New UK Coal Mine Faces Two Legal Challenges

January 24, 2023
46

Gas Stoves Enter U.S. Climate Culture War, Become ‘Bellwether’ for Industry

January 22, 2023
75
Jeff Hitchcock/flickr.

BREAKING: GFANZ Banks, Investors Pour Hundreds of Billions into Fossil Fuels

January 23, 2023
501

Exxon Had the Right Global Warming Numbers Through Decades of Denial: Study

January 17, 2023
227
willenhallwench / Pixabay

Ontario Greenwashes with ‘Misleading, Illegitimate’ Emission Credits

January 16, 2023
315
Next Post
Dwight Burdette/Wikimedia Commons

Colorado Oil and Gas Regulator Faces Environmental Justice Lawsuit

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}