This autumn, Latvia plans to expand the option of transferring deposit refunds from reverse vending machines directly to bank accounts, announced Miks Stūrītis, Chairman of the Board of SIA Depozīta iepakojuma operators (DIO).
“Transferring deposit refunds to a bank account is a step that shows how the deposit system as a whole is keeping pace with modern times and societal habits,” said Stūrītis, noting that the wider rollout of this option is expected this autumn. More detailed information on the expansion has not yet been disclosed by the company.
In June 2025, DIO launched a pilot project in cooperation with the Elvi retail chain. Within this project, customers at 53 Elvi stores could choose to receive deposit refunds directly into their bank account using Swedbank’s “dPays” solution.
According to SIA Elvi Latvija, in just three months since the option was introduced, customers have used it around 3,500 times, with more than 10,000 euros transferred to bank accounts. Currently, about 3% of deposit refund transactions are made this way.
Board member Laila Vārtukapteine noted that although the most popular method remains using printed coupons to redeem at the store next to the reverse vending machine,
the bank transfer option is slowly but steadily attracting more customers.
She added that children and seniors tend to prefer paper coupons, while economically active people of working age are more likely to choose transfers to bank accounts. With a wider rollout across all reverse vending machines, this feature is expected to become even more popular.
Latvia’s beverage packaging deposit system was launched on the 1st of February, 2022. Following a public tender, the State Environmental Service entrusted DIO with operating the system for seven years.
In 2023, DIO had a turnover of 26.11 million euros, up 5% year-on-year, while profit increased by 10% to 1.851 million euros. The company, registered in 2020 with share capital of 124,500 euros, is jointly owned by SIA Coca-Cola HBC Latvia (18.07%), SIA Alus un dzērienu iepakojuma savienība (18.07%), AS Cēsu alus (12.05%), AS Aldaris (12.05%), AS Iterum (12.05%), SIA Cido grupa (12.05%), the Latvian Retailers Association (9.64%), and the Latvian Brewers Association (6.02%).
Meanwhile, Elvi Latvija, which operates as a franchisor, posted a turnover of €5.868 million in 2023, up 7.1% from the previous year, while its profit more than doubled to €231,887. The company, registered in 2010 with share capital of 1.003 million euros, is owned by SIA Fortis VM (66.88%), whose shareholders are Imants Rendenieks (88%), Vita Rendeniece (9%), and Igors Kozlovskis (3%), as well as directly by Rendenieks (33.05%) and SIA Realto Capital (0.07%).
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