Pennies raises £2m in donations with support from Ingenico

Global fintech Ingenico Group has revealed it has raised £2m from micro-donations made through its POS terminals in the UK with fintech charity partner Pennies.

Beneficiaries of the scheme include Macmillian and Make-a-Wish foundation with donations being digitally collected from POS terminals at businesses such as Boot’s Opticians, Topps Tiles and Bupa Dental Care. 

Ian Benn, SVP Western Europe, Banks & Acquirers, Ingenico, commented: “Ingenico and Pennies have been working together for over eight years, and we are proud to be their payment partner. The Pennies project gives consumers a quick and easy way to give back to the charities they love. 

“The announcement of Pennies nearing the two million donation mark couldn’t have come at a better time, as it coincides with when Ingenico is celebrating a week of Corporate Social Responsibility. 

“As a company, Ingenico places high value on supporting worthwhile charities through key partnerships and looks forward to seeing microdonations expanding in the future.”

Having worked alongside Ingenico since 2011, Pennies donates spare change gathered digitally and allows supporters to donate easily and anonymously, without providing  personal data. 

Shoppers are able to round up the value of purchases/bills – removing the hassle of spare change. 

Collectively, Ingenico-only micro donations total more than 5million and both firms hope to continue supporting charities in both the UK and in Ireland.

Alison Hutchinson, CEO, Pennies, acknowledged the support from Ingenico and said she was “grateful” for the extended support. 

She said: “Ingenico were one of the first payment companies to really appreciate the value of what we were trying to achieve at Pennies, and were one of the earliest tech pioneers to enable Pennies – back in 2011. 

“As the pace of payments technology accelerates, it is easier than ever for us to shop, socialise and travel increasingly “cashlessly” – which means less loose change to donate ad-hoc.

“However, thanks to Ingenico and others we do still have the capacity to make a difference to causes and communities that inspire us – by harnessing the power of digital micro-donations.”