Credit Card Overview
Fact: there are more credit cards than people in Britain and the country's debt problems are amongst the worst in the world.
When choosing a card provider, its policies on responsible lending and debt advice provision are of key importance. The green and ethical concerns you bring to who you bank with, concerns about equal opportunities or the environment, are just as applicable to who you get your credit card from.
This section also looks at the green or ethical worth, as well as the practicalities of charity affinity cards.
Does your credit card provider treat its customers responsibly?
What are charity affinity cards and how do they work?
Does your credit card provider treat its customers responsibly?
Responsible lending
According to the British Banker's Association (BBA), responsible lending means 'providing credit, based on background checks and professional judgement, to people who can accommodate repayments without getting into financial difficulty'. As the sheer number of people in debt today shows, these principles are not always well applied by credit lending institutions. In 2008 our credit card debt hit £54.4bn and continues to rise.
Transparency is key - credit card customers should be presented with the terms and conditions attached to their card up front and in plain English. It is important to check whether your provider has a responsible lending policy in place, and how it is implemented if it does exist.
Debt management
Credit card debt is all too common in the UK. Some financial institutions offer basic in-house debt advice services, the scope of which can vary greatly. Often providers will refer customers to free advice services including the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, the Citizens Advice Bureau and others.
Use our search tool to find details of your provider's debt management services. Information on this subject can be found under 'Responsibility toward Customers'. Alternatively contact your provider directly for further information.
What are charity affinity cards and how do they work?
Affinity card providers make a small donation on behalf of the card holder to the charity it is associated with.
Such charity donations average around 25p per £100 spent. So, in order to donate £100 to your charity of choice you'd have to spend £40,000 with the card. Most providers also make a one-off donation of between £5 and £25 on each new card account.
In their analysis of charity affinity cards moneysavingexpert.com suggest that a more effective way to donate money is to use cash back cards. Cash back cards operate in much the same way as affinity cards except that instead of a charity, additional money goes to the card holder and this money is usually considerably more than a standard charity card donation. The cash back card holder can then donate the money they have earned to the charity of their choice and if eligible, Gift Aid it, so rather than £1 the charity will receive £1.28. Donations on affinity cards are not eligible for Gift Aid.
Your next steps
See our guide Next Steps - Credit Cards for more suggestions on how to find out about your credit card provider's green and ethical policies, how to contact them and how to find the right credit card for you.
Credit Card Search
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Credit Card Provider
Santander
Green/Ethical Products
- Offers responsible and sustainable products in each of the countries it operates. Incorporates ethical, social and environmental aspects as well as financial.
- Financing of electric vehicles and low carbon emissions.
- Financing for environmental and renewable products.
This information is from the group website not the UK company website and may not be available in the UK.
Ethical Lending or Insurance
In the social and environmental assessment Grupo Santander, will take the following factors into account:
- Nature of the products and services offered to customers.
- Countries where Grupo Santander and its customers are present.
Grupo Santander will not accept the following customer categories:
- Companies that do not support or respect internationally recognised basic human rights, within their area of influence
- Companies that do not abide by labour standards, and in particular, those that imposes hard or forced labour on minors.
- Companies that refuse to provide requested documentation or information.
Grupo Santander will not lend money to or insure companies operating in the following areas:
- Agricultural or fishing activity in protected areas.
- Deforestation of protected or high conservation or extraction value forests, and sale of types of native woods that do not have an ecological certificate issued by a third party.
- Extraction of asbestos or manufacturing products that contain asbestos.
- Trading with protected animal species.
- Manufacturing or distributing nuclear arms, anti-personnel mines or cluster bombs.
Which transactions this policy covers is not clear from the group website.
The Bank also has a range of sectorial policies which sets out criteria for financial activities connected with: defence, water. Energy and forestry sectors.
For example the defence policy says that Banco Santander will not finance projects related to arms manufacturing, trade or distribution of anti-personnel mines, cluster bombs or nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. In line with this, the Bank asks clients who could be connected with this sector to sign a declaration of conformity with its defence sector policy.
The Risk Units are responsible for assessing the social and environmental risks of the projects submitted by the different Committees for their approval. These projects must be consistent with this policy and any other policies that maybe approved by the Group on a sector level.
Santander considers social and environmental aspects in the risk analysis and decision-making processes pivotal in their financing operations. The adherence to the Equator Principles has as first objective, prior to funding, to identify and prevent the project’s negative social and environmental impacts and in the event that the impacts are unavoidable, reduce, mitigate or adequately offset them.
Human Rights
Grupo Santander will not accept the following customer categories:
- Companies that do not support or respect internationally recognised basic human rights, within their area of influence.
- Companies that do not abide by labour standards, and in particular, those that imposes hard or forced labour on minors.
- Companies that refuse to provide requested documentation or information.
The Bank will periodically verify its application and assess the risk of non-compliance in the environments in which it operates.
Additionally, in the initial stages of project funding analysis, the Bank will take into consideration the impact on human rights, without prejudice the application of the rest of the criteria normally applied in the Bank's ordinary procedures for customer acceptance.
In due diligence procedures prior to entering into cooperation or any other kinds of agreements within the scope of the Equator Principles, Santander undertakes to evaluate, as part of its analysis process, the human rights policies and practices of its counterparties.
The Bank's Internal Auditing is responsible for verifying compliance with this Policy.
Financial Exclusion
Provides funding for the Money Advice Trust (MAT), operator of the National Debtline and Business Debtline. These services provide free, confidential and independent advice to consumers and small businesses on how to deal with debt problems.
Offers Basic Accounts for first time or those not confident in managing their money.
Launched an improved ‘Financial Difficulties’ website for providing advice to customers in financial difficulty. Developed a new Financial Difficulties Guide in association with Payplan to provide further advice and support for customers in financial difficulty.
Through their ‘Affordable Credit’ scheme they provide small loans at reasonable interest rates from credit unions and CDFI’s. Aimed at low income customers in the UK.
MK Credit Union has banked a £10,000 donation from the Santander Foundation to expand the services they offer to clients who are in financial difficulty.
Offers the following:
- Mobile Banking Scheme
- Youth Bank Accounts for under 18’s
- Offers Hearing loops fitted in branches
- Written correspondence in different formats (Braille, Large Print, and Audio).
- Text Relay
- Online and Telephone Banking.
- Sign Language Interpreters.
- Partnership with the Post Office to offer services through their branches.
Santander operates microcredit programmes in many Latin American countries including Brazil, Chile and El Salvador. Santander has over 250,000 entrepreneurs working with microfinance of over €300 million credited.
No evidence found that the company invests in or lends at lower rates to financially excluded communities.
Environment
Santander UK’s environmental policy covers the key areas of climate change, energy efficiency, water use and waste management.
Committed to setting objectives to achieve continues improvement. Regularly reporting on performance to stakeholders. Use of independent review.
Carbon Neutral
No commitment to become fully carbon neutral was found.
Equal Opportunities
Santander UK’s diversity policy takes into consideration the key equality issues of race, gender, sexuality, and disability.
Women on the Board
Santander UK:
2/12 women hold top level board positions (17%).
Parent Company:
3/17 women hold top level board positions (18%).
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
Santander is a member of the following initiatives / standards:
- Business in the Community (a business-led charity focused on promoting responsible business practice) and its Opportunity Now and Race for Opportunity initiatives.
Santander UK is not a signatory on its own however its parent company the Santander Group is a member of or signatory to the following relevant charter or initiatives:
- The Equator Principles (guidelines from the International Finance Corporation).
- United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- UN Global Compact: United Nations Global Compact.
- UNEP Finance Initiative: Financial Initiative for the United Nations Environment Programms.
- EC Code of Conduct for European companies operating in developing countries.
- OECD Guidelines for multinational companies.
- ILO Tripartite Declaration on multinational companies and social policy.
- Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
Charitable Giving
Through Moneywise programme provided donations of £1 million to charities specialising in supporting financial education.
The Santander UK Foundation provides donations, and undertake volunteering and fundraising for projects that support disadvantaged people.
Santander UK Foundation and the Santander Universities programme provided £6,008,463 in support to the community sectors in 2009
Donated £28 million to UK charities since 1990 through the Foundation. In 2009, they made 1,500 donations, to both small local charities such as Scout Groups and large national charities such as Macmillan Cancer Care, totalling over £3.28 million of grants.
In the UK, community activities feature employee fundraising campaigns which provide support to local and national charities. In 2009 they launched their ‘Charity of the Year’ programme, raising £140,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital and £210,000 for Help the Hospices. In 2010 they raised £380,000 for Cancer Research UK.
Santander
- Current Account
- Savings
- Investments
- Credit Cards
- Loans
- Mortgages
- Insurance
- Private Pension Fund
- Student Current Account
Santander
Santander UK Plc.
Registered Office:
2 Triton Square,
Regent's Place,
London,
NW1 3AN,
United Kingdom.
