Third Sector Organisations Turn to Digital Payments Technology to Support Fundraising Drive

Digital payments are on the rise in the voluntary sector as charities battle to increase their funding during the cost-of-living crisis, new research from Endsleigh reveals.

The Rewarding Industries 2023 report surveyed financial decisionmakers across the third sector to analyse how organisations are responding to the challenges faced in today’s climate. The figures show that two fifths (40 per cent) of charities, social enterprises and not-for-profits are turning to technology to support new fundraising efforts. Investment in digital payments systems is a move that a third (32 per cent) have made in the past 12 months.

The Endsleigh report underscores significant challenges facing the third sector. Almost half (45 per cent) of the research respondents said their finances are worse now than they were during the pandemic.

As part of their upweighted tech investment, more than a fifth (22 per cent) of charities are also deploying secure payments software such as facial recognition and fingerprint scanning. Meanwhile, three fifths (58 per cent) said they had used the metaverse, augmented reality, virtual reality of gamification to encourage donations in the past year.

In contrast, more than a quarter (26 per cent) of third sector organisations have cut back on physical events to conserve cash.

Alison Meckiffe, CEO, Endsleigh Insurance, said: “Against a backdrop of rising prices and an increase in the National Living Wage, the third sector is under financial pressures.

“However, the sector is seeing huge advancements in the use of new technologies to create innovative fundraising opportunities, to streamline and improve efficiencies, and deliver the outcomes needed to attract new donors. Investment in payments software has been a big part of that drive.”