Banking on Social Purpose: NatWest Group’s Head of Payments Joins Pennies’ Advisory Board

Simon Eacott, Head of Payments at NatWest Group, has joined the Payments Advisory Board of fintech charity Pennies, bringing over 20 years of experience in the payments industry and a strong commitment to social purpose.

Made up of members of payments, technology, and financial services communities, members of Pennies’ Payments Advisory Board volunteer their time and expertise for free, helping guide the development of the charity’s digital micro-donation solutions.

Watch our full interview with Simon Eacott, discussing the critical importance of social purpose for business agendas, changing consumer payments behaviours, and the potential of Pennies, below:

“The simplicity and the emotion can make a huge difference”

Eacott expressed his excitement about joining Pennies’ mission:

“I am excited to be joining the team at Pennies at what is clearly a tipping point for the charity. Pennies has vastly increased the number of consumers who are able to give at the point of purchase – and has enjoyed exceptional growth in the last three years, unlocking a myriad of new payment channels to consumers.”

In the latest interview in our Advisory Board series, Eacott highlighted the potential benefits of micro-donations for merchants, saying:

“[Micro-donations are] a great opportunity [for merchants] to engage with their own staff, to engage with their own customer base, to have a really positive impact. It’s simple, it has a good impact on brand and it’s embedded simply into that payments journey. The simplicity, together with the emotion behind an individual just making a small donation often, could make a huge difference in totality and it demonstrates that social purpose.”

“Simon will add huge value to Pennies”

Alison Hutchinson CBE, Pennies CEO, expressed her excitement about Eacott joining the team and the potential for his expertise to help drive growth and innovation:

“We’re thrilled to have Simon join our Payments Advisory Board – he brings a wealth of transformative, executive programme delivery that, I know, will add huge value to Pennies. I have always said we are so fortunate at Pennies, because while the core head count remains small – we have a wealth of expertise supporting the team. Together, we will fulfil our ambition of unlocking millions more each year for charities, through micro-donations.”

Pennies has already enabled over 172 million micro-donations, raising millions of pounds in vital additional income for charities in the UK, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland. Through its digital micro-donation solution, Pennies allows customers to donate small amounts of money to charity through their everyday transactions, making it easy and accessible for everyone to make a positive impact.

Thanks to the expertise and guidance of its unique Advisory Board networks, Pennies can continue drive further innovation in micro-donations, bringing benefits to merchants, consumers, and the wider payments industry.

Find out more about Pennies Advisory Boards and its members here.

Becoming a Pennies solution partner

Pennies works hand in hand with payments technology providers, a vital cog in the Pennies movement, in order to unlock the potential for thousands of customers to donate via their retail clients. Together we increase the amount businesses can give – by tapping into the industry-wide move to digital payments.

Find out here how you can implement digital micro-donations in your payments solutions, unlocking technology for good and bringing small change donations to more customers.

About Pennies

Whether in-store, online and in-app, it’s a simple, affordable, data-free way to donate, with 100% of funds raised going to charity. Pennies works with over 100 of the UKs biggest brands including Domino’s, Currys, Greene King, Screwfix, Poundland, The Entertainer, Boots Opticians, JD Group, Travelodge, ASK Italian, Zizzi, and hundreds of roadside retail outlets.

Together, payment technology providers, merchants and their customers are helping hundreds of charities make a meaningful difference to the causes and communities they serve.

www.pennies.org.uk