GoCardless, the bank payment company, has extended its relationship with JustGiving to become the online donation platform’s exclusive open banking payment provider, replacing American Express. The move will see JustGiving use both the fintech’s Instant Bank Pay feature to collect instant, one-off gifts and its Direct Debit capabilities for recurring donations.

JustGiving estimates that 10% of its donations already go through open banking payments -- a proportion that it wants to grow. JustGiving does not charge a commission fee on donations to charity customers, instead relying on optional tips that donors use to cover its costs. The cost savings with Instant Bank Pay will help to sustain JustGiving’s business model and deliver more money to good causes. 

JustGiving also cites reduced fraud as another benefit of open banking payments, as well as fewer refunds: the immediate nature of these payments means a lower number of accidental transactions and duplicate payments.

Oliver Shaw-Latimer, Senior Director, Payments and Innovation, at JustGiving, said: “We’ve built a suite of products to support amazing causes and it is a privilege to be the payments platform powering fundraising behind the scenes. Fast forward 23 years and over $9 billion has been raised for good causes in almost every single country in the world. We’re constantly looking for ways to make donations go further, and open banking payments play a pivotal role. 

After working with GoCardless for over a year on recurring donations, we were confident that its Instant Bank Pay feature would be perfect for one-off giving. Instant Bank Pay will not only help us to keep costs low but also provide a best-in-class fundraising experience for our customers and their donors.”

Pat Phelan, MD of UK & Ireland and Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless, said: “As open banking approaches its sixth anniversary in the UK, we’re proud to bring this emerging technology to everyone through Instant Bank Pay on JustGiving -- a household name and one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country. By using our unique combination of Direct Debit and open banking payments, JustGiving can give donors and charities more payment choice whilst lowering costs and reducing fraud. Ultimately, this means more money goes to worthy causes.”

The announcement adds to GoCardless’ list of open banking payment customers, which include credit card provider Yonder; Nude, the savings app for first-time buyers; Pillar, the new fintech platform breaking down credit borders; and ethical lender Plend.