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Within a month, more than 2,000 individuals joined Coop Pank’s new Kaardivägi program and began contributing to strengthening Estonia’s defensive capabilities.

Karel Parve, the head of private banking at Coop Pank, said that already after the first month one can see that the desire of Coop Pank clients to invest in defence capabilities is great: “More than 2,000 clients have already made a choice in the online bank or in the mobile application in favour of supporting the Reservist Fund with every card payment. Statistics show that it is mainly our most active clients who join the program and start making microdonations. At the same time, this initiative also attracted many new clients. These are people who, probably, had previously considered the possibility of changing banks, and now have found a compelling reason to transfer their salaries to a domestic bank and actively use it for transactions, in order to thereby contribute to the defence of the state.”

In late April Coop Pank launched its Kaardivägi program, under which 1 cent from every card payment of its customers goes to the Reservists Fund, created to support the national defence of Estonia. For its part, the bank adds another 1 cent to each payment.

The average Kaardivägi member donates just over one cent a day to the Reservist Fund, to which Coop Pank adds another cent. A person who makes 30 card payments per month or one payment daily by joining the Kaardivägi program will donate an average of 30 cents per month, or 3.6 euros per year, to Estonia’s national defence. Together with the Coop Pank contribution, 7.2 euros are to be paid annually to the Reservists Fund for one such client. The total joint contribution of the bank and the 2,000 people who have already joined the Kaardivägi program is estimated at approximately 15,000 euros per year. “We see that the number of people joining Kaardivägi continues to grow, and we are working to ensure that more and more people discover this program so that our contribution to strengthening national defensive capabilities will be as significant as possible,” added Parve.

According to the head of the Defence Forces, General Martin Herem, Coop Pank is one of the first companies that, in order to collect donations for the fund, launched a special product, which allows the company, together with its clients, to invest in the security of Estonia. In addition to donating via card payments, you can support the Reservist Fund by purchasing products in Coop stores and its online store. “Everyone can contribute to Estonia’s defence – every donation and every cent counts! During the first month, the fund has already raised a total of 20,000 euros, which reflects the high public support for our national defence and reservists,” said Herem.

General Herem added that donations to the Reservist Fund, established under the National Defence Promotion Foundation, can be either one-time or ongoing. The recipient of the payment must be marked as Riigikaitse Edendamise Sihtasutus, and the recipient’s account must be EE704204278634045502. The goal of the Reservists Fund is to support the national defence of Estonia and reservists through voluntary donations, as well as to increase our combat effectiveness. The Reservists Fund supports the participation of Estonian reservists in long-term training, the acquisition of special equipment, the strengthening of the sense of cohesion among reservists, as well as allows us to recognize the best reservists and the best reserve units.

Coop Pank hopes that all clients who value Estonia and our freedom will join the Kaardivägi program and make donations to the Reservist Fund.