Over 25% of UK-based charities have seen their income levels decline in 2020 as the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and related lockdown measures have negatively affected the nation’s businesses and individual consumers.
Almost a third of UK organizations are now concerned regarding their future if their income levels do not return back to normal.
With many previously well-established and reliable income sources now unavailable due to COVID-related social distancing measures (like the closure of UK charity stores and the suspension of bucket collections), many charities have now turned to other ways of securing funds such as online giving through social media.
It’s these types of challenges that have led to Open Banking Excellence (OBE), the Open Finance supporter, to team up with Open Finance and payments specialist Moneyhub Enterprise, and Streeva, the developer of Swiftaid, to create a QR code solution that makes donations simpler and convenient, and also more cost-effective for charitable organizations.
UK residents may donate by scanning a QR code, created by Moneyhub, on the official OBE website and their LinkedIn page using their smartphones. Moneyhub then transfers the funds from the donor’s account to the charity’s account (which gets the donation instantly).
The new system provides automated Gift Aid through Swiftaid, instead of going through a tedious manual process. This way the charities are able to claim an extra 25% on every donation and recoup part of the approximately £500 million lost yearly due to unclaimed Gift Aid.
At present, UK consumers are able to use the QR code to donate to three different charities, including MyBnk, which provides financial education for young consumers; SSAFA, the armed forces charity; and EACH, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.
While the Coronavirus outbreak has had a negative impact on the charity industry’s ability to secure capital, donations have also been gradually declining in recent years. This is reportedly a trend that could have been accelerated due to the declining use of cash payments.
But now, QR codes could enable cashless donations. The use of Moneyhub’s Open Banking tech provides significant operational and cost efficiencies to charitable organizations.
Donors are able to maintain full control over their preferred charity and also the amount they intend to give without the hassle of setting up a payment via banking apps.
The payments are made instantly and are considerably less costly via the same Faster Payments infrastructure as standard banking transfers, so charities need not pay credit and debit card transaction charges or be asked to acquire point-of-sale card readers to take cashless donations.
This should lead to a greater amount of each donation being used for good causes.
Helen Child, Founder at OBE, stated:
“At Open Banking Excellence (OBE) we believe that Open Banking payments should be ubiquitous and that this is one of the best use cases in town! It’s our privilege to showcase the simplicity and security of Open Banking payments to our global community and raise much needed funds for charities. I’m proud to be working with two smart fintechs, Moneyhub and Streeva, to create this powerful initiative.”
Helen added:
“The charities we have chosen to support are ones that resonate closely with OBE: MyBnk promotes financial literacy, which we believe is important to unlock the potential of every person, whilst EACH, a children’s hospice, supports children and their families in difficult times. We’re all busy building a future. These children don’t have one. I come from a military family, so I know that SSAFA plays a vital role in helping service people who have dedicated their lives to serving our country.”
Samantha Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub, remarked:
“We are proud that our collaboration with Streeva and OBE means that charities in particular benefit from QR code payments, initiated through our Payment API. It’s quick, easy and can minimise donation leakage. It is imperative that those who rely on cash payments, such as charities, have easy access to technology so they can adapt to survive.”
David Michael, Co-Founder and CEO at Streeva, noted:
“Helping charities gain more through the use of new innovations and technologies is needed now more than ever. I believe that with the right collaborations, we can make a huge difference to the charity sector.