However different the world feels today compared to mere decades ago, one thing has remained unchanged: people want to make a difference in the lives of those in need. Charity cases may have taken a twist. Today, we don’t only help individuals but also communities or whole nations in dire conditions. Nevertheless, today charity is more accessible than ever before. By and large, the shift towards simpler and more profound charity giving solutions has happened thanks to the fintech industry.
Charity Stats 2025
After peaking at record highs between 2021 and 2023, last year, global acts of generosity saw a downturn. Only 56% of adults worldwide reported helping a stranger in the past month, which is 6% less than in 2023. Financial donations decreased to 33%, and volunteering fell to 26%, both down by four points from the previous year.
Though disappointing, we merely saw a return to pre-pandemic charity levels rather than some striking decline. Presumably, the debacle was driven by growing economic pressures and philanthropic fatigue caused by increasing charity initiatives globally. Or else, people might just need their impact to be better visualised these days.
While increased personal, energy and household costs prevent many consumers from making donations, they may not always realise the power each of their spare pennies has. Last year, Pennies, a fintech that focuses on microdonations, ran a big survey to understand how people in the UK feel about giving to charity. When told that just 35p a week from every cardholder could raise £1 billion a year for charities, nearly half (48%) of those surveyed said they’d be more willing to make small donations.
Regional Disparities in Charitable Giving
Nevertheless, the global picture does not reflect all the complexities of the charitable environment. Generosity levels vary globally. For instance, 89% of Indonesians reported donating money in 2024, reflecting strong community ties and religious obligations, while only 3% did so in Morocco, possibly due to limited disposable income.
In countries where charitable cases pile up unprecedentedly due to military conflicts or natural disasters, generosity levels also differ. Thus, in Ukraine, 73% of the citizens reported making donations in 2024, up from 53% in 2019. Overall, 86% engaged in some form of charitable activity, including volunteering or providing assistance to those in need. Moreover, last year, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations, United24, Come Back Alive, and the Serhiy Prytula Foundation, collectively raised over 24 billion UAH, marking a 28% increase from 2023. The vast majority of these donations were facilitated by digital banking and even crypto services.
Youth Is Driving Charity Growth
Predictably, charitable giving will grow by 3.9% in 2025. These expectations are based on increased personal income and rising net worth, which typically lead to higher charitable contributions. A lot of this growth will be driven by Generation Z.
This young cohort is redefining philanthropy by making giving an essential part of their daily lives and professional endeavours. They are more inclined towards impact investing and value transparency than other generations, too, seeking sustainable and socially responsible initiatives.
Moreover, Gen Z, displaying inherent donor qualities, is also the most technologically advanced generation on Earth. They were born with high tech at their disposal and continue to use tech-driven solutions for everything, including regular charity giving.
How Fintech Redefines Charity
Financial technologies transform all types of monetary transactions, including those catering to people and communities in need. Decades earlier, giving money to others in a fit of generosity for regular people was limited to throwing some coins into a beggar’s hat on the street. Businesses could help people otherwise, but still, it was all mostly reduced to cash and checks. Today, there’s a variety of charity methods and platforms that make giving as simple as any other transaction.
Digitalisation Makes Donation Effortless
Digital wallets, mobile banking, and embedded payment solutions allow people to donate in seconds using their familiar payment methods and apps.
Zelle
Integrated into over 1,000 U.S. bank and credit union apps, Zelle allows users to send donations directly to nonprofits through an email address, phone number, or the links at their donation pages, eliminating the need for complex forms or third-party platforms. This widespread integration simplifies the donation process for many users. For nonprofits, Zelle also provides utter convenience and instant access to donated funds, enabling campaigns for urgent causes such as helping the victims of natural disasters. To leverage Zelle for noble causes, a nonprofit must simply bank with an institution that supports Zelle payments.
SoftPOS
Accepting donations at a bricks-and mortar location can also be simpler with contactless payment services. One example is Malaysian Zakat collection centre that piloted a SoftPOS solution enabling charity employees to accept contactless donations on their Android NFC smartphones instead of costly payment hardware in 2023.
In Malaysia, Muslims give a traditional donation during Ramadan to help provide food for those in need. It’s a required donation for adult Muslims who have more food than they need. While many people already donate online through Islamic Zakat services, the option to give using contactless card payments was a new way that made it even easier, especially for the younger, cashless generation, to carry out this religious charitable duty.
Donations Embedded in Banking Apps
Banks offer trusted payment infrastructure bridging the gap between reputable charity organisations and people willing to help others. Consumers often see donation campaigns online, but cannot easily check their legitimacy. Unfortunately, many fraudsters send fake donation requests and create fake charity web pages, eroding trust of the givers.
Mobile banking apps they use on a daily basis, on the other hand, are the most trusted financial environments. That’s where charity links can be embedded without security concerns. With donations embedded within a banking app, users don’t have to share sensitive bank card information with potentially untrustworthy websites and enjoy seamless and quick philanthropic transactions.
GoodCoin
GoodCoin is a white-labeled cloud-based charitable giving platform designed to be embedded within digital experiences, including online banking and mobile apps. It enables users to direct contributions to local causes seamlessly, discovering causes that align with their values in a 1.8 million charity database. The list includes both large nationwide organisations and small neighbourhood charities. The fintech platform has partnered with several U.S. banks, including Liberty Bank, Citizens State Bank, Harvest Bank, and more. Thus, its dashboard is available directly through these banks’ online banking experience.
Ukrainian Banks
In Ukraine, where donation flows have accelerated since the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022, major banks like Privatbank or Monobank offer options to donate to both military and humanitarian charitable organisations right within the banking apps. Such donations may be one-time or subscription-based. Besides, Monobank, for instance, allows users to redirect their cashback points to charitable causes as well. That enables users to satisfy their desire to contribute to good deeds without burning a hole in their pocket.
Dedicated Charity Platforms
Not only consumers sometimes find it hard to donate in an easy and trustworthy way. Nonprofits themselves are also struggling to collect, redistribute and manage their donation inflows properly. That’s where dedicated fintech platforms step in to facilitate internal back-office processes for charities.
Crowded
Crowded offers a financial platform tailored for nonprofit groups, allowing them to collect, spend, and manage money online. It integrates banking services with donation collection, providing a unified platform for financial management. The platform features tools for nonprofit tax compliance, expense tracking, employee payroll, and payment processing for dues and donations.
This solution can be used not only by charitable organisations but also churches, schools and college clubs, boy and girl scouts, temporary fundraising campaigns, etc. It offers multiple participation options, like donating open amounts, paying set fees, purchasing charitable event tickets, cookie sales, donating with a multiplying option, and more. Besides, Crowded offers a passive fundraising service via Rewards system – a cashback program that sends half of the points earned by shoppers at 1400+ partner online stores to the user while another half goes to the supported nonprofit group.
Face Donate
FaceDonate is a UK-based nonprofit platform aiming to revolutionise charitable giving through technology. It enables donors to provide direct, traceable support to individuals in need, particularly in accessing fresh food and essential household items. The platform uses QR codes and contactless payment technologies to ensure end-to-end transparency, allowing donors to track how their contributions are spent in real-time. It also incorporates anonymous facial recognition to maintain recipient privacy while ensuring secure transactions.
London-based Hackney Foodbank started trialling the FaceDonate app in 2022 and made the service available to users at its five distribution centres in 2023. The new digital system replaced traditional food parcels with flexible, digital food vouchers, reducing overheads and preserving dignity. It lets people in crisis buy groceries using QR codes generated through facial recognition. Foodbank users scan their face in the app, receive the funds instantly, and pay with a QR code. Funds are allocated based on household size and can be used at partner stores, but not on harmful items like alcohol or tobacco.
Microdonations Make a Difference
As they say, there are no small donations. Together, every penny counts and creates a solid impact where it’s most needed. The power of microdonations is illustrated by numerous fintech platforms and services.
Pennies
Operating in the UK and Ireland, Pennies provides a “digital charity box” that allows customers to make micro-donations at the point of sale. This feature is integrated into the payment systems of participating retailers, both in-store and online. When people pay by card or digitally, they are offered an opportunity to donate a few pence to charity, in a simple and safe way.
Small change may be a drop in the ocean for a buyer, but they can fund great causes when taken together. The option to donate a small sum appears automatically on the card terminal in-store, or at the checkout online or in-app of a participant business. All you have to do is opt in and make a difference.
Operating since 2010, Pennies has collected more than £62 million for over 1,000 different charities. This enormous impact was achieved through 256 million microdonation transactions British customers agreed to make.
Klarna Supports Climate Protection
We all know Klarna as the smart tool that facilitates online shopping and makes it more affordable. However, the company also contributes to noble causes related to the environment. In 2023, the BNPL provider released a new top-up tool allowing customers to add $1, aimed at supporting climate protection initiatives, to the amount of each purchase made using its interest-free Pay in 4 service at integrated retail partners.
These donations are processed through the charitable fundraising platform Milkywire and directed to the WRLD Foundation, supporting organisations aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on climate, people, and biodiversity.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding donations range from micro- to large ones. Anyway, they show the powers of community and fintech blended together for the greater good. Some of the crowdfunding platforms have a clear focus on social impact or environmental sustainability. Others concentrate on ambitious tech projects, healthcare initiatives, creative agendas or miscellaneous purposes. Projects on such platforms can be presented by individuals, not-for-profits, social enterprises and community groups. Crowdfunding resources offer multiple financing schemes, from all-or-nothing to joint funding pots. Additionally, they may provide support infrastructure and useful marketing tools.
Bottom Line
Charity has gone digital along with the wider finance sector, and fintech is at the heart of it all. While global giving dipped slightly in 2024, it’s still way up from pre-pandemic days, and countries like Ukraine are seeing record donation levels, often thanks to banking apps, digital platforms and even crypto networks. Gen Z is powering a lot of this momentum, making charity part of their everyday routine, especially through tech.
Fintech tools have made donating easier and safer, whether it’s sending money via Zelle, tapping your card through a SoftPOS setup, or clicking a button in your mobile banking app. Platforms like GoodCoin and Crowded help both donors and nonprofits manage giving efficiently, while innovative solutions like FaceDonate offer food aid with dignity through QR codes and facial recognition. Klarna even lets shoppers round up for the planet. Microdonations through services like Pennies prove small amounts can lead to big change — over £62 million raised so far!
Whether it’s giving back through cashback points, banking app widgets, or embedded donation buttons, fintech is making generosity more convenient, transparent, and impactful than ever before.
