4 FinTechs enabling Digitised Charitable Giving this Holiday season

By Gloria Methri

December is the season of giving to charity, and many people are inspired to donate during this month. Be it food, clothing items, overalls, or furniture, almost every family looks to reach out to someone in need during the holidays. People generally donate toward a cause that touches them, or they feel that can make a difference.

Financial technology is increasingly making its way into the philanthropy sector, offering people an easy way to engage in charitable giving, no matter their capacity.

Many FinTech firms have developed mobile apps that help people set aside a small amount of money over time for donations. In many cases, these apps focus on micro-donations, allowing users, for instance, to round up the change from online transactions and later give the sum to specific charities.

These apps cater to younger adults who already use FinTech apps for payments and may want to get involved in philanthropy but don’t know how.

Here are four FinTechs that are offering unique ways for people to donate and make a big change.

• Pennies

Pennies is a UK-registered FinTech charity founded in 2010 and is already a big hit among the public, non-profits, and retailers. The Pennies platform acts as a digital charity box, allowing retailers to fundraise on behalf of their chosen charity via the payment terminal.

The ‘digital charity box’ gives customers paying by card or digital wallet a convenient way to add a small donation to their purchase, when shopping with participating retailers. Whether in-store, online, or in-app, it is a simple, data-free way to donate, with 100% of funds raised going to charity.

• Give A Little

Give A Little is a point-of-donation software platform for contactless, chip+pin, and online donations. It aims to facilitate an easy-to-use, flexible, and affordable way for charities of all sizes to collect donations in a cashless society.

The platform is used by charities to maximise their revenues at the point of donation, and to monitor, track, and report on donation revenues across channels. It is also used by device manufacturers to provide turn-key solutions that offer high-end user-centered design experiences, reliability, and remote management of software.

• Givt

Givt is a mobile and web application for supporters and businesses to quickly donate towards any cause, at any time and from anywhere in the world. Givt allows everyone to participate during a collection, even without cash. The Givt app picks up the signal and this way you are always good to give. It is also possible to scan a QR code or select a goal from the list. The company is operated by a team of specialists, divided over the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.

• Swiftaid

Swiftaid is a digital solution helping UK charities and taxpayers maximise their Gift Aid. The solution was created by Streeva; a FinTech company on a mission to automate everyday processes by making transactions smarter.

Swiftaid is Streeva’s first automated charity tax service, developed in 2018 in partnership with the University of Surrey and co-funded by InnovateUK. It is the first HMRC-recognised solution to automate Gift Aid on contactless donations and is now facilitating multiple donation methods.

ALSO READ: Global Lending Vendors & Landscape Report Q3 2023