Committed for many years to a more responsible form of development, Ingenico Group (Euronext: FR0000125346 – ING), the world leader in integrated payment solutions, looks back on the total number of micro-donations made in 2019 in Europe. The Group, a “Tech for Good” advocate, was the first supplier of payment solutions to incorporate donations into payment terminals in the United Kingdom, in 2011, and in France, in 2015. In close cooperation with its partners, the Group has pursued this process for several years.

Ingenico: a “Tech for Good” advocate

Convinced that the payment process, which is rooted in the day-to-day life of consumers, has to be responsible, Ingenico set itself the task of giving it a new role: a process that has a positive impact on society as a whole. The Group therefore introduced - first in the United Kingdom in 2011 - the option of making a micro-donation through the payment terminal while making a purchase. This initiative was extended to France in 2015 and then to Spain in 2018.

The micro-donation initiative forms part of the actions taken since 2015 by the Group to respond to the major challenges identified by Ingenico in the payment sector, whether social, economic or environmental in nature.

For Nicolas Huss, CEO of Ingenico Group: “After recording in 2019 almost 17 million micro-donations on our payment terminals - amounting to €4 million - thanks to our partnerships with microDON, Pennies and Worldcoo, we intend to go further and extend this process to more retailers and countries. Our aim is to encourage donations on all of our solutions and to offer a maximum of our clients the chance to support every day, if they so wish, a useful project for the common good.”

Record number of micro-donations in 2019

In 2019, there was a record number of micro-donations made on Ingenico solutions. This act of solidarity was very popular with consumers and gave a new breath of life to the non-profits in question, which were short of new sources of funding.

In 2019:

• The number of micro-donations in France doubled last year in comparison with 2018, rising to 11,415,309 micro-donations, amounting to €2,691,036;
• In the United Kingdom, the number of micro-donations in 2019 rose to 1,114,401, amounting to €505,787;
• In Spain, Ingenico recorded 4,416,906 micro-donations, amounting to €817,627.

In Europe, Ingenico and its three partners - microDON (France), Pennies (United Kingdom) and Worldcoo (Spain) - were therefore responsible last year for 16,946,616 micro-donations, representing a total of €4,014,450.

Olivier Cueille, CEO of microDON, notes: “2019 was the best year for micro-donations: a year in which numbers rocketed. We have to capitalise on this very positive dynamic by increasing the level of social responsibility in companies and by stepping up the implementation of our solutions with Ingenico to ensure that charity rounding has a bigger impact. 2020 promises to be a stimulating year!”

Alison Hutchinson, CEO of Pennies: “Thanks to our partnership with technology companies like Ingenico - who led the way in the UK - we are able to unlock more of the potential offered by micro-donations, and harness a community of giving amongst businesses and consumers in the UK, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We estimate there is a huge £1bn opportunity if every UK card holder gave just 30p every week. Ingenico, and others, are supporting the early growth in this movement. Pennies are on track to hit 100 million donations this year, a real milestone in micro-giving.”  

For Borja Goizueta, Partner at Worldcoo: “2019 was Worldcoo’s best year. After developing micro-donations on payment terminals with Ingenico, we increased the total value of donations by a factor of ten on the previous year.”

The success of micro-donations paints a picture of solidarity for the future

The concept behind making a micro-donation on a payment terminal is simple. When paying a purchase with a bank card in a participating store, the consumer is invited to add a few cents (or pence) or to round up his or her purchase to the nearest euro (or pound) for the benefit of a charity and the projects that it supports. Based on simple donation methods, the micro-donation process triggers the feeling of civic engagement within many consumers. In fact, it has been reported that two thirds of French people would be willing to make donations in this way - as confirmed by the high participation rate in stores.

Ingenico intends to carry on supporting the vital work of hundreds of voluntary organisations in France and Europe, and aims to boost the impact of payment-terminal micro-donations on the premises of tens of retailers over the coming years.