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
Tesco Bank
Green/Ethical Products
No evidence of specifically green or ethical products found.
Ethical Lending or Insurance
No evidence of an ethical insurance policy found for Tesco Bank.
Human Rights
No policy was found to indicate that Tesco Bank plc avoids lending to or insuring companies that directly contribute to human rights violations.
However, Tesco Plc has a human rights policy in place governing its supplier relations. According to the policy, Tesco will not knowingly tolerate illegal, forced, or bonded labour by any supplier or contractor. In applying this policy, Tesco Plc will actively look for any violations when conducting audits. If it becomes aware of a problem, Tesco Plc will take appropriate action, which may result in a supplier being de-listed.
Tesco applies most of the principles the EU’s Human Rights Act in its company-wide policy.
Financial Exclusion
No evidence of any accounts, products, or services aimed specifically at the financially excluded.
However, Tesco Bank works with StepChange Debt Charity to provide access their online debt help tool Debt Remedy. This free service offers impartial advice to those facing financial difficulty.
No evidence that Tesco Bank provides direct financial support to or engages in partnerships with Credit Unions and CDFIs (Community Development Finance Institutions).
Tesco provides textphone and typetalk numbers for customer enquiries on a range of products.
A 2012 press release indicates that Tesco Bank will provide half a million pounds of loan capital for the Grameen micro-lending system, which has helped lift millions of people out of poverty worldwide. In what will be Grameen's first venture apparently in the UK, Tesco Bank will offer savings facilities and business support for aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to start businesses in some of Scotland's most deprived communities.
No evidence found that the bank otherwise invests in or lends at lower rates to financially excluded communities.
Environment
Tesco Bank’s environmental policy covers the key areas of climate change, energy efficiency and waste management.
The bank appears to be committed to continued improvement of its environmental performance.
According to the company website, Tesco Bank seeks to help protect the environment at the customer, supplier and employee level by:
- maintaining offices that use automatic lighting, energy efficient thermal insulation and natural light
- recycling, composting or incinerating all of waste
- minimising printing paper use
- increasing telephone and video conferencing facilities to reduce travel
Carbon Neutral
Tesco plc aims to be a carbon neutral business by 2050.
Equal Opportunities
Tesco Bank’s equal opportunities policy addresses the key issues of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion and ethnic origin.
Women on the Board
Tesco Bank indicates that it currently has 3 women on its board (30%), 3 women on the Executive Committee (19%) and women in senior management positions across the Group account for 31% as a whole.
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
No membership of any relevant charters or initiatives found for Tesco Bank.
However, Tesco PLC supports in full the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Core Conventions.
Tesco PLC is a member of the Employers' Network on Equality and Inclusion, the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, and Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).
Charitable Giving
Tesco Provides a free service through its ATM’s for customers to donate to the following charities:
- Diabetes UK
- Action for Children
- Barnardo's
- Save the Children
- Teenage Cancer Trust
- Together for Short Lives
- Disasters Emergency Committee
In addition, for every transaction made at ATMs at 2,200 Tesco stores 0.0125p is donated to Tesco's National Charity Partner. From March 2012 to February 2013, Tesco Bank raised £76,000 for its 2012 charity partner, Cancer Research UK. As of July 2013, Tesco Bank has raised over £32,000 to this year’s charity partner, Diabetes UK, through this service.
Tesco Bank has three charity partners (CCLASP, CHAS and Gateshead Crossroad Care) with which its employees engage in various volunteer and fundraising opportunities.
Tesco Bank
- Credit Cards
- Loans
- Savings
- Mortgages
- Insurance (Home, Car, Pet, Travel, Life, Over 50s)
- Student Car Insurance
Tesco Bank
Tesco Personal Finance plc.
Interpoint Building
22 Haymarket Yards
Edinburgh EH12 5BH
