Ping An Bank has launched a personal carbon account platform in a bid to encourage a green a low-carbon lifestyle for consumers.

The first of its kind in China, the Low Carbon Home account collects data on environmentally conscious, or "green", behaviours of account holders upon their authorization, from their use of UnionPay credit cards and debit cards. Jointly developed by Ping An Bank, China UnionPay and the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange (SEEE), it has a base of 110 million UnionPay users.

The platform calculates users' personal carbon emission reductions through the SEEE methodology. The calculations are based on six major low-carbon behaviours in daily life: travelling by bus, subway, high-speed rail or bicycle sharing, charging vehicles with renewable energy sources, and making utility payments through digital channels. Carbon emission reductions can be used to show customers how they are helping to protect the environment through their low-carbon behaviours and motivate them to do more.

Ping An says the platform could build the foundation for personal carbon trading in the future.

The bank also launched a "green power" bonus point scheme for Low Carbon Home account owners. They can earn points for 15 green behaviours, which they can redeem for green assets on the platform. The 15 green behaviours are divided into three categories: 1) green travelling, including travelling by public transport, high-speed rail, bike sharing, or walking, and charging vehicles with new energy; 2) utility payments through digital channels, including online payment of public utility bills; and 3) digital daily spending, including QR code payment and virtual credit card applications.

Currently, account owners can redeem their bonus points for a tree that will be planted in Hebei Province under the Ping An Public Welfare Foundation project, A Tree to Safeguard Ecological Civilization. The bank plans to enhance the green power bonus scheme with more redeemable green assets, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), donations to animal rescue projects, and public transport vouchers.