Oct. 2, 2008 - Visa Europe has launched a new credit card service for business customers that contributes a portion of each charge to renewable energy projects.

The company has partnered with RePay International to offer the card, which allows customers the opportunity to offset carbon emissions with each purchase via RePay’s ClimaCount compensation program.

All business cardholders are able to access the ClimaCount website to check their purchases, their carbon emissions per transaction, and the way that the emissions will be offset.

"This new partnership means that we can offer members a green payment capability across Europe that addresses the increasing demand for sustainable initiatives," says Luc Janssen, head of Visa Commercial. "It is also easy for member banks to get involved as they won’t need to invest heavily in special back office functionality, as ClimaCount has that already in place."

Last year, Bank of America began offering its version of a green credit card. The Brighter Planet Visa card allows customers to earn one "Earthsmart" point for every dollar spent. Each month, the points are then redeemed to support renewable energy projects in the U.S.