{"id":8613,"date":"2024-09-23T08:23:13","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T15:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=8613"},"modified":"2024-09-23T08:23:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T15:23:13","slug":"top-uk-bank-launches-payment-tracking-system-to-crack-down-on-meat-purchases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/23\/top-uk-bank-launches-payment-tracking-system-to-crack-down-on-meat-purchases\/","title":{"rendered":"Top UK Bank Launches Payment Tracking System to Crack Down on Meat Purchases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This would instantly make me find a new bank, but in the UK you might not have good options. Consequently, I don’t have financial apps installed on my phone, but looking at the Wells Fargo app’s data safety they don’t share data with third parties, no data collected, data is encrypted in transit and account deletion is available. Consequently, I’ve had Wells Fargo for decades and even serviced their ATMs back when I worked for Brinks in the 90’s (at times we’d have $17 million in 20’s on a table to be bagged for individual ATM machines). And their online banking and ATM network is very good, so we keep them as our bill paying banking service, with a state credit union as our main bank insulated from transactions. And smaller credit unions usually suck for online banking and ATM networks. But here in Wyoming a state bank is better regulated and more trustworthy. And though everyone thinks their money in the bank is insured, the FDIC insurance fund would quickly be exhausted if bank runs start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/slaynews.com\/news\/top-bank-launches-payment-tracking-system-crack-down-meat-purchases\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

By Frank Bergman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A major international bank has launched a new payment monitoring system to track customers\u2019 purchases as part of a crackdown on the general public buying meat and dairy products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London-based<\/a> NatWest Bank launched the \u201ccarbon footprint tracker\u201d to supposedly tackle the alleged \u201cclimate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British multinational bank\u2019s system monitors customers\u2019 spending and scolds customers when they buy meat and dairy products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tracker issues alerts that warn customers their food purchases are causing \u201cclimate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of NatWest\u2019s smartphone banking app, users receive messages when they are caught buying traditionally farmed produce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are also urged to \u201cswap out\u201d items such as beef and milk with \u201calternatives\u201d such as \u201cnon-dairy\u201d or \u201cplant-based\u201d products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app pressures customers to take part in \u201cveggie Mondays\u201d and warns they should be \u201cchoosing (mostly) plant-based\u201d diets to fight \u201cglobal warming<\/a>\u201d by reducing their so-called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The alert messages also recommend eating \u201cvegetarian at home\u201d to reduce your \u201ccarbon footprint\u201d by 40kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By \u201cswapping out beef,\u201d the app alleges an individual could reduce their \u201ccarbon footprint\u201d by 12kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, users are urged to try adding tofu, lentils, and other \u201calternatives<\/a>\u201d to their diets as substitutes for eating meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bank doesn\u2019t draw the line at food, however, and seeks to push the green agenda into all aspects of its customers\u2019 spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app also suggests buying \u201cmore second-hand clothes\u201d and taking \u201cfewer flights\u201d in order to comply with the \u201cNet Zero\u201d targets of the World Economic Forum (WEF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional warning messages from the bank tell customers to switch off tumble dryers, share car journeys, and wash their clothes in cold water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Users can also \u201copt-in\u201d to receive a \u201cmonthly carbon score,\u201d which the bank already tracks as default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the move has angered British farmers with its push to crack down on red meat and to replace dairy products with \u201cplant-based alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s National Farmer\u2019s Union (NFU) has criticized NatWest for promoting \u201coversimplified\u201d messages that \u201cmiss the nuance of the path to a sustainable food system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Barton, chair of the NFU Livestock Board said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have been working closely with NatWest about messaging on its \u2018carbon tracker\u2019 in its customer app.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we eat is a personal choice and should be made in an informed way,\u201d Barton added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are continuing our conversations with the bank about the nutritional and biodiversity benefits eating meat provides as currently the app\u2019s tracker only focuses primarily on greenhouse gas emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cWe understand that the NatWest app is primarily focusing on [greenhouse gas] emissions, but the reality is that when making diet-related recommendations, other factors such as nutrition, environment, and biodiversity must be presented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following months of back-and-forth, the bank agreed to change the wording on its app following a pushback from the farming industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the NFU believes this change is not significant enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recommendation to buy local, British produce has been added by the bank following pressure from the NFU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFU says the British meat and dairy industry is among the most sustainable in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s beef \u201cemissions\u201d are less than half the global average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barton added:  \u201cDespite this disappointment, I am pleased to see some changes being made to the \u2018carbon tracker\u2019 on its personal banking app, following NFU\u2019s engagement with NatWest at a senior level over several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am also pleased that conversations are still ongoing between the NFU and NatWest on how best to communicate the benefits of meat to the bank\u2019s customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFU President Tom Bradshaw said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is positive to see NatWest\u2019s willingness to learn, and we are committed to continuing to work with the banking sector to ensure they fully understand and work alongside the agriculture sector when it comes to reducing emissions and supporting resilient, sustainable businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A NatWest spokesman said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt NatWest, we have championed farming for nearly 300 years and we are one of the largest lenders to the sector, committing \u00a36.7bn of funding to support farmers to fund climate and sustainability-related projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe transition to a low carbon economy is a topic of interest to many customers and sectors, including farming and agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will continue to support our customers in their sustainability journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe carbon tracker is an optional feature that customers have told us is valuable, but we always listen to stakeholder feedback and continue to look for ways to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This would instantly make me find a new bank, but in the UK you might not have good options. Consequently, I don’t have financial apps installed on my phone, but looking at the Wells Fargo app’s data safety they don’t share data with third parties, no data collected, data is encrypted in transit and account […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8615,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613\/revisions\/8615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}