Martin Newman Joins Pennies to Inspire Brands and Shoppers to Make Every Payment Count

As consumers increasingly seek meaningful, affordable ways to give back, Pennies, the award-winning fintech charity which enables micro-donations to charity, has today appointed renowned consumer advocate and business leader Martin Newman as its new official ambassador.

Martin, widely recognised as the “Consumer Champion,” brings over four decades of leadership experience in consumer-facing industries, including senior roles at global brands such as Burberry, Intersport, and Harrods. His appointment marks an important moment for Pennies as the organisation accelerates its efforts to make micro-donations a natural, everyday part of the customer experience.

To date, Pennies has enabled over 262 million micro-donations, raising over £63 million for more than 1,070 charities across the UK, Republic of Ireland, and beyond. Martin’s ambassadorship will build on this momentum, raising awareness of micro-donations across retail and consumer sectors, encouraging more businesses to integrate giving into their customer journeys, and positioning micro-donations as a best practice for customer-centric, purpose-led businesses.

Martin Newman commented: “Micro-donations are a powerful way to enable everyday generosity at the point of purchase, empowering consumers and helping brands connect more meaningfully with their customers. I am proud to support Pennies in their mission to make giving simple, inclusive, and part of everyday life. Together, we can encourage more businesses to put purpose at the heart of their customer experience, while unlocking vital income for charities large and small.”

Alison Hutchinson CBE, CEO of Pennies, added: “Martin has long been a supporter of Pennies and we are thrilled to formally welcome him as our ambassador. His expertise, reputation, and alignment with our mission will help amplify our efforts to put micro-donations at the heart of everyday transactions, giving people affordable ways to give and enabling businesses to demonstrate authentic social purpose.”

2025: A Year of Growth, New Partners, and New Voices

Martin joins Pennies at a pivotal time, as the charity continues to expand its reach and impact. This year has already seen a wave of new brands embracing micro-donations, making it easier than ever for customers to give a little as they shop.

New partners joining the movement in 2025 include:

• Lidl GB, rolling out Pennies across all UK stores for several campaigns throughout 2025 as part of their customer donation programme.
• Iceland Foods, now offering micro-donations across stores nationwide.
• Debenhams Group, bringing micro-donations to customers shopping online across the group’s brands from March.

Alongside these new retail partnerships, Pennies has welcomed fresh expertise to its Advisory Boards – bringing new perspectives from some of the world’s most influential businesses:

• Will Hawkley, Partner and Global Sector Head, KPMG (joins Pennies’ Hospitality and Leisure Advisory Board)
• Damian Burns, GM Global, Kindred (joins Pennies’ Payments and Technology Advisory Board)
• Marc Fryer, Head of UK Revenue & Growth, Stripe (joins Pennies’ Payments and Technology Advisory Board)
• Suzanne Steele, Vice President and Managing Director, UK&I, Middle East and Africa, Adobe (joins Pennies’ Payments and Technology Advisory Board)

These new voices will help guide Pennies as it builds on its mission to enable millions more consumers to make micro-donations – and help businesses show customers they care by giving back in simple, everyday ways.

Media Contact:

media.relations@pennies.org.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7600 9286

About Pennies

Pennies is an award-winning fintech charity with an important mission: to enable, protect, and grow micro-donations, ensuring people have digital ways to keep donating the small sums of money that are so vital to charities.

In an increasingly cashless society, Pennies’ ‘digital charity box’ gives customers paying by card, digital wallet, and emerging payment channels a simple, affordable way to add a small donation to their purchase—online, in-store, or in-app—with 100% of donations going to charity.

To date, Pennies has enabled over 262 million micro-donations, raising over £63 million for more than 1,070 charities across the UK, Republic of Ireland, and beyond.

For more information, visit: www.pennies.org.uk