Guest Blog: Combining the power of digital giving with omnichannel payments

Pennies is a movement, made up of individuals and organisations committed to making charitable giving affordable, impactful, and feel-good. One of those organisations is payments solution provider Optomany, and for our latest ‘Viewpoint’ blog, Chief Operating Officer Ian Rutland shares their Pennies story.

At Optomany we’re all about putting the right tools in the hands of retailers to drive high customer satisfaction and true omnichannel success. But we also recognise the importance of supporting worthy causes, and our clients’ desire to do the same. That’s why we’re a committed partner of Pennies.

Seamless giving
People have been talking about omnichannel for years, but thanks to platforms like ours, retailers of all sizes now have the technology to finally achieve it. It’s great on two levels; offering a seamless experience for the shopper across on and offline channels, which means they’re more likely to spend more, and return. But it also allows the retailer to gain a single view of the customer — insight which is hugely useful to maximise sales and enable things like hassle free cross-channel refunds and one-click purchases.

Our partnership with Pennies is a win-win for Optomany and our customers. We’ve been able to switch on the service with very little back-end integration work for a growing number of clients, including major football clubs like Fulham and Cardiff City. They’ve been delighted at how quick and easy the process has been, and how they now have a powerful new way to raise money for their community foundations that do so much great work in their local communities.

Beyond football
In the first couple of weeks after going live with Fulham FC, we saw donations on around 25% of all purchases through the club’s bricks and mortar and online stores. But the truth is that Pennies is a perfect fit for any retail business. It helps support firms’ valuable CSR initiatives and shows their customers that they care.

What’s more, with Optomany’s powerful platforms there’s absolutely no impact on the payment experience for the card user. Donating at the till is as simple as tapping a button. And it’s a much more engaging way to give than the old fashioned physical collection boxes which are increasingly ignored as we no longer carry around so much loose change.

Pennies spotted where things were headed and did something about it and we love them and their concept so much we make it available to our partners and customers free of charge. So, come on, make yourself, your staff, your customers and your chosen charity feel good today by making the decision to adopt Pennies!

Ian Rutland, Chief Operating Officer, Optomany