ESG for payment companies: OpenWay shares strategies for a sustainable future

In view of this, many payment companies are developing business and operational models built on CSR (corporate social responsibility), which addresses a company’s internal culture and philosophy, and/or ESG (environmental, social, and governance), which measures specific goals. What areas might payment companies look at to create their strategy, and to evaluate practices already in place?

With the right company culture, sustainability initiatives are a natural extension of an organization’s vision for its growth. OpenWay implements its CSR policies using four approaches lately highlighted in Forbes.

Purpose. When every employee understands their contribution to the overall purpose, morale and motivation increase. For fintechs, this purpose may be to promote financial inclusion, make digital services cost-friendly and more secure, make loans accessible to SMEs, or another positive way their technology impacts the world.

Structure. Streamlined communications and distributed infrastructure help information flow efficiently within the organization and among partners and shareholders. OpenWay has several distributed hubs across the globe for every key function, united by a fully virtualized yet secure infrastructure and knowledge sharing practices.

Process. Company processes should foster disruptive innovation and make it easier to launch new sustainability initiatives. Especially organizations that support a country’s payments infrastructure must ensure that their approach includes up-to-date technical and organizational concepts that lead to resilience. This will make them reliable partners and help build relationships with the communities they serve.

People. The success of CSR and ESG initiatives depends on people, a company’s biggest asset. To attract and retain top talent, companies must communicate their values clearly to socially conscious employees. They must also provide staff training, address employee satisfaction and reward innovative ideas. OpenWay invests heavily in training and team building events, some together with partner companies. It supports flexible working models and embraces diversity, with a global team representing 30 nationalities. Moreover, although women represent less than 10% of leadership in fintech globally, 30% of OpenWay’s top management roles are held by women.

Banks, processors, and fintech startups have a clear role to play in putting the environment first. By promoting digital payments, they reduce the need for cash and paper receipts, and all the resources related to their creation and management. Fully virtual cards reduce the need for plastic PVC, and payment software options reduce reliance on POS. OpenWay’s software platform for Card-as-a-Service providers allows any kind of card to be issued in digital form. It is used by some OpenWay clients to issue digital card solutions with embedded sustainability features. These include data-driven digital payment services that allow issuers to engage and educate consumers, linking their purchases to environmental footprints. To reduce the energy footprint of digital payments, organizations can promote efficiencies in transactions and harness economies of scale, using reliable data centers that have pledged to transition to carbon neutral.

Many fintechs focus on financial inclusion and social responsibility. OpenWay’s digital payments platform is used to offer both online and offline payments, low-cost digital payments, inclusive wallet ecosystems, and card-based distribution of social aid to financially vulnerable populations. Moreover, a number of initiatives have been launched by the company to support education, transition to renewable energy sources, promote recycling and other activities.

Governance is where companies can demonstrate their awareness of the bigger picture. They can promote a high level of ethics and transparency, shareholder democracy, and diversity in their company structure. OpenWay is one of 120 western brands that have divested from Russia, making an ethical choice and acting in accordance with sanctions. Fintechs play a large role in contributing to digital economic security and resilience around the world, as OpenWay’s recent participation in the G20 summit shows. Lately, governments have introduced on-soil implementation requirements for personal data storage within their country. In managing cloud implementations, OpenWay promotes compliance and resilience by deployment on public clouds, local data center of a public cloud, or a combination of these.

In summary, CSR and ESG initatives benefit payment companies by increasing motivation within the organization and attracting talent. Energy-conscious consumption reduces costs and increases income. And along with brand recognition and reputational benefits, cooperation with governments and regulatory bodies may open doors to future domestic and cross-border collaborations.

As a trusted partner of leading payment institution worldwide, OpenWay is keenly aware of the local and global commitments of its clients to the environment and community. Designed to run with high availability and scalability in a wide range of scenarios, OpenWay’s Way4 digital payments system can be easily configured to enable organizations to reach their ESG objectives in any region. Contact us to learn how Way4 can help your company gain an edge in an evolving, more sustainable payments ecosystem!