Apple Pay donations have been enabled today for 22 of the UK's largest charities, including Comic Relief, Cancer Research UK, and the Disasters Emergency Committee.
The feature, which was announced last year for US charities last year, is now available in the UK and supports Gift Aid. Charities said they hoped that the new feature would make it easier for people to donate online when using Apple devices.
Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 devices and later, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3 and later and means that people can confirm payment, or donations, using fingerprint recognition software on their devices or entering a passcode to trigger payment from a stored debit or credit card.
Participating charities are: ActionAid UK, Alzheimer's Society, Barnardo’s, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Comic Relief, Concern Worldwide (UK), DEC, Marie Curie, Oxfam, (RED), The Royal British Legion, RNIB, RNLI, RSPB, RSPCA, Scope, Sightsavers, Unicef UK, VSO, WaterAid, and WWF-UK.
Charities say it ‘could be a game changer’
Michael Dent, director of fundraising at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Offering supporters a quick and simple yet highly secure way to donate could be a real game changer for charities. People pay for goods online and on their mobiles every day with ease and should expect their charitable donation to be just as efficient and safe.
“This innovative technology will make single and regular donations much easier and we hope it will increase our fundraising so we can support even more people living with dementia, fund further treatments and ultimately find a cure.”
A Barnardo’s spokesman: “Donations from individuals are crucial to our work and this system will make it easier and more secure to give.
“With just a touch, people will now be able to help improve the lives of the most vulnerable children and young people, easily, quickly and at the very moment they feel inspired to donate.”
Amanda Bringans, director of fundraising at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to offer Apple Pay to help make it even easier for people to support our lifesaving work, as every pound raised could help bring us a step closer to beating heart disease.”
Graham White, individual giving director at Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s important we explore different ways to pay to make sure we stay relevant and that people can continue to give to us in ways that fit into their busy lives.
“Cancer Research UK has been at the forefront of exploring donation mechanics in the third sector. We are striving to make it easier for people to donate to us, and continually test new ways to give.”
Zenon Hannick, chief technology officer at Comic Relief said: “We are really excited to be offering our supporters the chance to donate using Apple Pay during Red Nose Day on March 24th. We are confident it will be making a donation to Comic Relief even easier, helping us raise more money to help and support vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the UK and some of the world’s poorest communities.”
Peter Reynolds, director of fundraising at Concern Worldwide UK, said: “Our donors are increasingly using digital channels to engage with and support our work tackling hunger amongst some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. They want fast, convenient and secure ways to donate, so we are delighted to be one of the first UK charities to offer Apple Pay to our supporters.”
Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC said: “It is really exciting that the UK public will now be able to donate to DEC disaster appeals using Apple Pay, enhancing the user experience and making fundraising for these emergencies quicker and easier than ever before. DEC appeals are only launched in response to large scale humanitarian crises.”
Steve Armstrong, head of digital at Marie Curie said: “Marie Curie is committed to making it as easy as possible for people to support us in many different ways. Apple Pay offers a frictionless and secure means for our supporters to donate money and help us care for terminally ill people and their families."
Matt Jerwood, Oxfam's head of digital fundraising, said: "Apple Pay makes it even easier for our supporters to contribute to our work across the globe. It means they are just one touch away in our app from providing clean water, food or a blanket in a humanitarian emergency.
"Our digital fundraising strategy is increasingly centred on mobile devices and on giving supporters greater ease, transparency and control over their giving. Apple Pay provides a quick and secure way to make a difference.”
Deborah Dugan, CEO, (RED), said: “It’s so exciting to see Apple continually expanding the ways customers can support the AIDS fight with (RED). Over the past ten years, Apple has raised almost $120 million for the Global Fund through its (RED) partnership, so we’re thrilled that people can now donate using Apple Pay with just the touch of a finger.” said
Steve Tyler, head of innovation and development at RNIB said: "New technologies, like Apple Pay, are helping to change lives by making giving to a good cause simpler and safer, and we seek to ensure that accessibility is simply part of the experience. RNIB research shows that while the vast majority of blind and partially sighted people want to take control of their financial affairs, they're often prevented from doing so because of inaccessible systems. With a focus on security, privacy and accessibility, smart technologies give blind and partially sighted people greater confidence that their financial details remain private and their transactions are secure."
Luke Surry, RSPB head of digital and data, “The introduction of Apple Pay to our website is an important milestone in our plans to deliver improved experiences and the latest technology to our supporters. We are excited to be part of the initial launch in the UK as Apple Pay will simplify how our website visitors support us financially, and allow us to continue to give nature a home.”
RSPCA assistant director of income generation Julian Holmes-Taylor said: “We’re thrilled that we’re part of the launch of Apple Pay in the charity sector which will give our supporters an easy, secure and convenient way to donate and more choice about how they pledge their money.”
Tracy Griffin, director of marketing, fundraising and communications at Scope, said: “We know that many people want to donate to charities like Scope but the focus on a cash-free wallet means many are not able to. Donating to Scope through Apple Pay is simple, secure and speedy so can help us reach more people, more quickly.
Becki Jupp, Sightsavers’ director, global individual giving and marketing, said: “Mobile technology is changing the way Sightsavers’ supporters help improve lives. We are therefore very excited to be one of the first charities to offer Apple Pay in the UK. We believe that such advances in technology and the way people can donate mean we can offer greater choice to our supporters – enabling them to give in a way that best suits them and is quick and effortless.” comments
Catherine Cottrell, deputy director, fundraising, Unicef UK, said: “At Unicef UK we want to make giving as easy as possible. People are increasingly using mobiles and other digital devices to make payments so offering choice about how to donate is all the more important. Integrating Apple Pay makes donating both instant and effortless and secure for our supporters, and we hope that it will encourage more people to join us and share our mission to do whatever it takes, until every child is safe.”
David Dawson, global digital manager at VSO said: “For VSO, the future of giving is all about connecting the public to the communities we serve in some of the poorest parts of the world. So it’s right that if people want to support our work that they can do so securely, intuitively and in as straightforward way as possible. Apple Pay represents a huge leap forward in giving, making the act as simple as the touch of a button.”
Marcus Missen, WaterAid’s director of fundraising and communications, said: “We are delighted that our supporters can now help make change happen with just the touch on a button. Apple Pay gives us one more way to help bring safe water and sanitation to the world’s poorest people, and to work towards the UN Global Goal of reaching everyone, everywhere with these essential services by 2030.”
Kerry Blackstock, director of fundraising, WWF, said: “Our supporters needs are constantly changing, they want innovative and easy ways to give to WWF. They want more control in how they give and when the give as well as knowing their donation is making a difference. That’s why we are happy to be one of the first charities in the UK to support instant donations through Apple Pay and to launch our Give an Hour for Earth Hour fundraising campaign at the same time."
Melanie Vasseur, digital transformation manager at the RNLI, said: “We are keen to explore Apple Pay, and believe it will result in donations we may not otherwise receive, as well as connecting us with new types of supporters.
She added: "It’s important we try to remain at the forefront of fundraising technology.
"The RNLI has a proud history of innovating in its fundraising methods – from holding the first street collection in 1891, to being the first UK charity to launch an app to work with the Apple Watch in 2015. Introducing Apple Pay is the latest step for us on that journey, and we will closely monitor how much money is donated through this payment method.”
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