Raiffeisen Bank in the Czech Republic has been working with Tapix for five years to improve transaction categorization, merchant recognition and payment enrichment. At a time when sustainability is an important topic for banks and consumers, Raiffeisen Bank has integrated the Eco Track™ product to offer a view of the estimated transactional carbon footprint of payments to more than 1 million customers who actively use mobile banking.
According to EY sources, some consumers want more information and better insight into sustainability, but need more detailed transaction data to be able to trust them at all:
- 61% of consumers feel they need more information to make more sustainable choices.
- 51% of respondents want to buy more sustainably but need clearer information.
- 64% are willing to change their behaviour if they are provided with reliable data.
However, the majority of transactional carbon footprint information in banking relies on Merchant Category Code (MCC) categorisation - a system designed for payments, not for transaction category and sustainability information. This leads to general estimates that do not reflect actual spending behaviour.
Raiffeisen Bank has therefore integrated Tapix's Eco Track™ solution, which delivers significantly more accurate calculations independent of the basic MCC classification.
Why is the MCC-based carbon footprint measurement insufficient?
MCCs categorise transactions by sector, not by specific traders. Take for example MCC 5411 - Grocery and Supermarkets: The Tapix database includes 31 different types of stores, from discounters to organic markets to mini-markets to gas station convenience stores. Each is characterised by very different consumer behaviour and different transactional carbon footprints, yet the MCCs treat them in the same way.
The problem is not just about food:
- MCC 5045 - Computers and peripherals; combines the production of high-emission hardware with the downloading of lower-emission software.
- MCC 4722 - Travel agencies and tour operators; includes both airline tickets and bike sharing.
Tapix analysis found that reliance on MCCs alone led to misclassification of 37% of transactions. This means that one in three transactions ended up in the wrong category or were not classified at all. Therefore, categorization at the merchant level is more important than that at the industry level.
Example: classification accuracy and its impact on the transactional carbon footprint
For a travel transaction of €50 classified in MCC 4879 (travel agents and agencies), the transactional carbon footprint can be estimated at 49.8 kg CO₂e. If the same payment was correctly identified as Flix Bus, the actual transaction footprint is 25.5 kg CO₂e - a difference of 50% due to pure misclassification.
If the category was Sport (16.9 kg CO₂e) and at the merchant level Ski areal, the transactional carbon footprint would only be 5.6 kg CO₂e. Among other things, the Food category (26.9 kg CO₂e) and its associated transaction such as Food Delivery (29.5 kg CO₂e) may also fall under this MCC. Transactions for some traders may exceed the category average.
"Insights about the transactional carbon footprint are only useful if they are built on the right transactional data. MCC-based models lead to general estimates that do not reflect actual spending behavior."
Kateřina Linhartová, Product Manager, Tapix by Dateio
Solution: Refining carbon footprint information
How Eco Track™ works
- 95% categorization accuracy - eliminating dependence on basic MCC models
- Transactional CO₂ footprint calculations at the merchant level - display qualified estimates for both categories and individual transactions
- Localised CO₂ models - covering nine European countries with an EU-wide average solution
- Environmental tips - provide a category-by-category overview to better inform users and add overall context
- Full user control - clients can turn the feature off at any time with a few clicks.
"Users want sustainability insights they can trust. But if the data is not accurate, they won't engage with it. Eco Track™ was designed to provide banks with accurate and realistic estimates of their transactional carbon footprint - so their clients get data they can actually use."
Ivan Dovica, CEO Tapix by Dateio
Environmental tips: a context that promotes user interest
Eco Track™ provides contextual sustainability information alongside spending categories to help users make informed decisions.
Examples include:
- "Running an email inbox for a year can consume the same amount of energy as driving a car 320 miles."
- "Each credit card transaction releases approximately 4 grams of CO₂."
- "The average European mixed diet results in 1 800 kg CO₂ per year, while the average American diet produces 2 600 kg CO₂ per year."
This adds depth to the data and ensures that transactional carbon footprint information is not just a number – but an interactive, practical tool.
Impact: What Eco Track™ brings to Raiffeisen Bank
- Higher engagement and better information - new type of transactional carbon footprint information increases user interest in the app
- Better financial tools - accurate categorization improves visibility of expenses
- Developing ESG awareness - sustainability with supporting data.
Context: Long-term data partnership
Since 2019, Tapix and Raiffeisen Bank have been working together to improve transaction enrichment and categorization:
- 2019: Merchant data enrichment → Clear merchant names, logos and GPS
- 2020: Categorisation of personal finances → Reliable overview of spending for users
- 2024: Eco Track™ → Enhance accurate categorization by displaying transaction carbon footprint.
"When it comes to sustainability, we knew that relying solely on MCC wasn't providing meaningful results. That's why we turned to Tapix - to ensure that the information our clients see is as accurate as possible."
Michal Putna, Sustainability Officer, Raiffeisen Bank Czech Republic
Accurate transaction data is the foundation of digital banking. Without accurate categorisation, financial insight, sustainability and customer engagement suffer.
With the integration of Tapix's Eco Track™ solution, Raiffeisen Bank now provides more than 1 million active mobile banking customers with more accurate information about their transactional carbon footprint at the merchant level - positioning itself as a leader in data-driven sustainability.
