Open banking and Instant Payments are changing how charities and non-profits collect donations. New smart ways of working are reducing operational costs and providing convenient and fast donation processes.
Yet many nonprofits have yet to take advantage of open banking, nor understand the value and ease of integrating such payment systems into their existing infrastructure.
We spoke to Senior Sales Executive and our resident specialist in charity and nonprofit payments, Axel Carlborg, about how open banking and instant account-to-account payments are helping to transform how charities collect donations.
What challenges is the charitable sector facing when it comes to fundraising and donations?
Axel Carlborg: Getting more donors, especially monthly donors. That is the holy grail for donations. One-off donations are great, but getting people to commit to a monthly donation is the biggest challenge for most charities I’ve spoken with.
It’s about predictable payments, right?
Axel Carlborg: Exactly. I know there are a lot of challenges within organisations, but that’s the main thing from a payments perspective, that’s what comes to mind specifically.
What do potential donors gain by using Brite payments in the donation process?
Axel Carlborg: As a donor, you would benefit from a secure, convenient, and fast method to donate money to your chosen charities. You can move money instantly, meaning the charity receives the funds immediately. As a consumer, it’s about the ease of use. You don’t need to remember card details or anything. You just authenticate and transfer the money. Donating using Brite Instant Payments is a very streamlined, easy process that anyone can use.
And how do charitable organisations also benefit from these payments?
Axel Carlborg: From the charity’s perspective, when they receive a donation, especially when dealing with larger sums or unusual sources, they must ensure that the money comes from a specific individual and not an anonymous person due to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. That verification can also be obtained through Brite, as we can provide information about the payer – their name, address, and bank account information – so the charity can verify who is paying through our service.
How does Brite specifically address the unique challenges charities face, such as transaction fees or donor drop-off?
Axel Carlborg: When it comes to transaction fees, it really depends on what you’re comparing it to. Our service can be very cost-efficient, and for the charitable sector, we offer reduced prices. However, I wouldn’t focus too much on transaction prices. The main benefits are addressing the specific challenges that charities face.
The first is what we just discussed: the need for charities to know where the money comes from. Our service is compliant in this sense, as we identify all of our users.
The second is reducing user drop-off. It’s quicker to make a payment through Brite than to get your credit card and manually enter the details. Our streamlined flow makes it very easy for people to complete payments without having to gather any information; they have all of that top-of-mind. The streamlined payment flow significantly reduces drop-off.
Our service is also modular, and we offer data solutions (Brite’s Account Information Services AIS) that can be used standalone or in combination with our payment services and can be applied to specific use cases.
Can you explain how Data Solutions streamlines the donor experience? What can a charity expect?
Axel Carlborg: When a charity uses our data solution service, the purpose is to efficiently and easily collect account numbers and information from donors. This allows donors to sign up for an automatic monthly payment, which is then deducted from their account and paid to the charity. This is essentially a direct debit.
In Sweden, it’s very common for people not to know their bank account numbers, making it a tedious process to sign up for a direct debit. However, through Brite, we collect the necessary information for the organisation in seconds. The donor can then verify and sign up for the direct debit through a separate signing flow. Our data solutions service aims to simplify this process of sharing information to make it easier for consumers to help out.
Are there other uses as well? Can charities use this to onboard donors?
Axel Carlborg: Yes. We can collect bank information, including account numbers or IBANs and the account holder’s name. We can also collect Know Your Customer (KYC) information, like the customer’s full name, address, and, in Sweden, SSN. This information can be used to identify the person and can also be used for sending physical mail or other outreach.
The main purpose of the data solution service is to streamline the process of signing up monthly donors. Our product suite is modular, so if a charity uses Brite for a one-off donation, we can transfer the same information that the data solution service provides. This allows the organisation to ask the donor if they would like to make it a monthly donation instead. If they agree, the charity already has the information to sign them up for a direct debit.
So, the charity receives a quick one-off donation and has the information to convert it into a monthly donation. This modular approach allows organisations to adapt our product suite to their needs.
Have you improved the donation results when working with charity partners?
Axel Carlborg: Yes, Suicide Zero (a Swedish charity) increased its number of monthly donors by 14% after updating its infrastructure to include Brite Payments. This is a very concrete example of how our service had a quick effect. In that case, they only used it for monthly donations. Even so, it streamlined their sign-up process so much that it increased their monthly donors by 14% within just a few months. That’s an impressive result.
How does Brite typically work with charities to ensure the integration process is as easy and swift as possible?
Axel Carlborg: Brite’s assigns every merchant a dedicated onboarding manager, who sets up an initial call to discuss the specific use case and timeline. The onboarding manager then guides the merchant through the integration process, answering any questions they may have along the way. We also monitor their activity after they go live to ensure things are running smoothly. It’s not a “plug-and-play” situation where they’re on their own. We offer a very personalised service.
Additionally, for many smaller charity organisations, their donation volumes can be hard to predict, with spikes at certain times of the year. For those organisations, we are able to offer them a flexible, predictable pricing model with a monthly package that’s adapted to their volumes and spikes. This helps them plan their activities, as they know exactly how much they’ll pay each month regardless of donation volume. It’s a win-win situation.
Are there specific charities that benefit most from using Brite, or is it beneficial for all organisations?
Axel Carlborg: Our service is not specific to any particular type of organisation. As long as you need to increase the number of monthly donors or members, it works very well. Our modular approach lets you choose the products you need to achieve your goals. The only absolute requirement is that you need some form of digital presence.
Is now a good time for charities and NGOs to adopt open banking and instant payments?
Axel Carlborg: Absolutely. The technology is mature, especially in the Nordic countries, and we have results that show our services help organisations increase their operational efficiency and, even better, attract more donors.
In all honesty, there’s no better time than now.
Finally, I’d like to add that I’m particularly proud of the service we provide to our partners in the charity sector. Believe it or not, we actually came across this need by coincidence. We had the technology available, but were not actively targeting organisations.
However, when speaking to a merchant with ties to the charity sector, we soon realised there was huge potential for improving donor registration flows. Taking that leap to tailor our product has proved one of our best decisions for all involved.
Learn more about how Brite partners with Charities and Nonprofits
Open banking and instant A2A payments are transforming both one-off and regular donations. Already, many charities and other organisations are reducing costs and providing a more refined experience for donors across the UK and Europe.
If you would like to get in touch with Brite about the different open banking-powered payment solutions we offer charities and nonprofits, then contact our payment experts now.
