Nonprofit Donations: The Apple Pay and Google Wallet Effect

We’ve said before that mobile is the future. That future has now become the present. Major technology companies are stepping onto the mobile payment field, with Apple Pay and Google Wallet first at bat. Even the social image-sharing platform SnapChat has added a mobile payment feature.

This fresh technology isn’t just taking over the retail and social spaces. It affects nonprofit donations, too.

Taking Nonprofit Donations Mobile

What one item is practically everyone carrying at any given moment? Their phone. That’s why it makes perfect sense for transactions to take place using a smartphone. These devices already do so much for us — why not add another task to the list?

With Apple Pay and its competitors, customers can use their smartphones to finalize transactions at the cash register. They don’t even have to swipe a credit card. They can pay instantly with their phone. Technology should make life easier for its users, and that’s exactly what mobile wallets bring to the table.

Trust in the Unknown

One drawback to adopting mobile payment technology is that many are hesitant to trust companies with their bank account information. This is especially true with new apps from unknown companies. But with large and popular brands like Apple and Google behind the technology, more people are open to giving it a try.

In fact, Apple has already seen their mobile payment service take off. According to an article in The New York Times, in the first three weeks Apple Pay was available to consumers:

Whole Foods processed more than 150,000 Apple Pay transactions

Apple Pay accounted for 50 percent of McDonald’s tap-to-pay transactions

Mobile wallet payments to Walgreens doubled

Thanks to Apple Pay’s success, other mobile payment options are seeing increased usage, too. Google Wallet experienced growth after the release of Apple Pay, despite beating them to the game in 2011. This bodes well for the idea as a whole. You can expect to see even more mobile payment apps crop up in the coming days.

What This Means For Your Nonprofit

How have nonprofit donations been made in the past? Checks made out to important charities. Pledge cards mailed in after fundraising events. Cash dropped in a donation bin.

But checks, pledge cards, and cash are on their way out. In our fast-paced society, donors need fast and simple ways to give. They don’t want to carry a wallet stuffed with cash anymore. They don’t want to write checks or fill out pledge cards. Even credit cards are beginning to become obsolete.

With mobile wallets hitting the mainstream, more and more people will start adopting this slick new form of payment. Shouldn’t nonprofit donations be just as easy? Instant giving is what the people want. The more up-to-date your organization is, the more likely it is that modern consumers and potential donors will pay attention.

Start looking into mobile donation options for your nonprofit. After all, it’s the wave of the future — and the future starts now.