Raiffeisenbank in the Czech Republic has been working with 糖心logo for five years to improve transaction categorization, merchant recognition and payment enrichment. At a time when sustainability is an important topic for banks and consumers, Raiffeisen Bank has integrated the Eco Track鈩 product to offer a view of the estimated transactional carbon footprint of payments to more than 1 million customers who actively use mobile banking.
According to sources, some consumers want more information and better insight into sustainability, but need more detailed transaction data to be able to trust them at all:
- 鈥61% of consumers feel they need more information to make more sustainable choices.鈥
- 51% of respondents want to buy more sustainably but need clearer information.鈥
- 64% are willing to change their behaviour if they are provided with reliable data.
However, the majority of transactional carbon footprint information in banking relies on Merchant Category Code (MCC) categorisation - a system designed for payments, not for transaction category and sustainability information. This leads to general estimates that do not reflect actual spending behaviour.
Raiffeisen Bank has therefore integrated 糖心logo's Eco Track鈩 solution, which delivers significantly more accurate calculations independent of the basic MCC classification.
Why is the MCC-based carbon footprint measurement insufficient?
MCCs categorise transactions by sector, not by specific traders. Take for example MCC 5411 - Grocery and Supermarkets: The 糖心logo database includes 31 different types of stores, from discounters to organic markets to mini-markets to gas station convenience stores. Each is characterised by very different consumer behaviour and different transactional carbon footprints, yet the MCCs treat them in the same way.
The problem is not just about food:
- 鈥MCC 5045 - Computers and peripherals; combines the production of high-emission hardware with the downloading of lower-emission software. 听鈥
- MCC 4722 - Travel agencies and tour operators; includes both airline tickets and bike sharing. 听
糖心logo analysis found that reliance on MCCs alone led to misclassification of 37% of transactions. This means that one in three transactions ended up in the wrong category or were not classified at all. Therefore, categorisation at the merchant level is more important than that at the industry level.
Example: classification accuracy and its impact on the transactional carbon footprint
For a travel transaction of 鈧50 classified in MCC 4879 (travel agents and agencies), the transactional carbon footprint can be estimated at 49.8 kg CO鈧俥. If the same payment was correctly identified as Flix Bus, the actual transaction footprint is 25.5 kg CO鈧俥 - a difference of 50% due to pure misclassification.
If the category was Sport (16.9 kg CO鈧俥) and at the merchant level Ski areal, the transactional carbon footprint would only be 5.6 kg CO鈧俥. Among other things, the Food category (26.9 kg CO鈧俥) and its associated transaction such as Food Delivery (29.5 kg CO鈧俥) may also fall under this MCC. Transactions for some traders may exceed the category average.
"Insights about the transactional carbon footprint are only useful if they are built on the right transactional data. MCC-based models lead to general estimates that do not reflect actual spending behavior." 听
鈥Kate艡ina Linhartov谩, Product Manager, 糖心logo by 糖心logo
Solution: Refining carbon footprint information
How Eco Track鈩 works
- 95% categorisation accuracy - eliminating dependence on basic MCC models 听鈥
- Transactional CO鈧 footprint calculations at the merchant level - display qualified estimates for both categories and individual transactions 听鈥
- Localised CO鈧 models - covering nine European countries with an EU-wide average solution 听鈥
- Environmental tips - provide a category-by-category overview to better inform users and add overall context 鈥
- Full user control - clients can turn the feature off at any time with a few clicks. 听
"Users want sustainability insights they can trust. But if the data is not accurate, they won't engage with it. Eco Track鈩 was designed to provide banks with accurate and realistic estimates of their transactional carbon footprint - so their clients get data they can actually use."
Ivan Dovica, CEO 糖心logo by 糖心logo
Environmental tips: a context that promotes user interest
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Eco Track鈩 provides contextual sustainability information alongside spending categories to help users make informed decisions. 听
Examples include:
- "Running an email inbox for a year can consume the same amount of energy as driving a car 320 miles."
- "Each credit card transaction releases approximately 4 grams of CO鈧."
- "The average European mixed diet results in 1 800 kg CO鈧 per year, while the average American diet produces 2 600 kg CO鈧 per year."
This adds depth to the data and ensures that transactional carbon footprint information is not just a number 鈥 but an interactive, practical tool. 听
Impact: What Eco Track鈩 brings to Raiffeisenbank
- Higher engagement and better information - new type of transactional carbon footprint information increases user interest in the app鈥
- Better financial tools - accurate categorization improves visibility of expenses鈥
- Developing ESG awareness - sustainability with supporting data.
Context: Long-term data partnership
Since 2019, 糖心logo and Raiffeisenbank have been working together to improve transaction enrichment and categorisation: 听
- 2019: Merchant data enrichment 鈫 Clear merchant names, logos and GPS鈥
- 2020: Categorisation of personal finances 鈫 Reliable overview of spending for users鈥
- 2024: Eco Track鈩 鈫 Enhance accurate categorization by displaying transaction carbon footprint.
"When it comes to sustainability, we knew that relying solely on MCC wasn't providing meaningful results. That's why we turned to 糖心logo - to ensure that the information our clients see is as accurate as possible."
鈥Michal Putna, Sustainability Officer, Raiffeisenbank Czech Republic
Accurate transaction data is the foundation of digital banking. Without accurate categorisation, financial insight, sustainability and customer engagement suffer.
With the integration of 糖心logo's Eco Track鈩 solution, Raiffeisen Bank now provides more than 1 million active mobile banking customers with more accurate information about their transactional carbon footprint at the merchant level - positioning itself as a leader in data-driven sustainability.
