Pennies
Pennies (The Pennies Foundation) is a UK-registered charity operating a digital micro-donation platform that enables over 200 merchants and 40+ payments/technology providers to embed charitable giving at point of sale, raising more than £81 million for 1,125+ charities since 2010.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Pennies does
Pennies (legal entity: The Pennies Foundation) is a UK-registered charity founded in 2010 and headquartered in London that operates a digital micro-donation platform serving as the cashless equivalent of the traditional charity collection box. The company partners with over 200 merchants (including Currys, Domino's, Lidl, JD Sports, Greene King, The Entertainer, and Debenhams Group) and 40+ payments and technology providers (Worldpay, Verifone, Ingenico, Stripe, Global Payments, Oracle, Shopify Plus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Magento 2) to embed charitable donation prompts into card-present terminals, e-commerce checkouts, and mobile apps. Since 2010, the platform has facilitated over 330 million micro-donations raising more than £81 million for over 1,125 charities across the UK, Ireland, and the Isle of Man.
The technology stack centers on a Pennies API for e-commerce, mobile app, and card-present integration, supplemented by official apps on Shopify Plus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and Adobe Magento 2. The platform supports omnichannel micro-donations across in-store card terminals, self-service kiosks, order-and-pay apps, and online checkouts, with documented claims of no impact on checkout times or e-commerce conversion rates.
Pennies generates revenue through two streams: a transaction fee of up to 10% of each voluntary micro-donation, and restricted/unrestricted funding from foundations and individuals including Oak Foundation, Pears Foundation, The Rank Foundation, and Independent Franchise Partners. Merchants and charities pay no setup or operational fees; 100% of donation amounts (less the 10% take) flow to beneficiary charities. The organization is governed by a Board of Trustees, led by CEO Alison Hutchinson CBE, and is not backed by venture capital or private equity.
Pennies firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pennies
- Legal name
- The Pennies Foundation
- Website
- https://pennies.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Pennies (The Pennies Foundation) is a UK-registered charity operating a digital micro-donation platform that enables over 200 merchants and 40+ payments/technology providers to embed charitable giving at point of sale, raising more than £81 million for 1,125+ charities since 2010.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pennies industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Micro-Donation Platform
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments (MPACAFAB)
Keywords
Where Pennies is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pennies business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Micro-donation fee: Pennies receives a small percentage, up to 10%, of each voluntary donation made through the digital charity box. This helps fund operations, technology investment, and growth of the micro-donation movement.
- Foundation and individual funding: Pennies receives funding from foundations, trusts, and individuals to support the mission and help realise the vision of growing digital micro-donations. Key funders include Oak Foundation, Pears Foundation, and The Rank Foundation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Merchants pay no setup or operational fees |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Charities receive micro-donation grants at no cost |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Pennies product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pennies operates a digital charity box platform that enables merchants to offer customers the option to make small micro-donations (round-up or top-up) at point of sale via card-present payment terminals, e-commerce checkouts, and in-app payments. The platform is delivered through a proprietary API and official integrations for major e-commerce platforms (Shopify Plus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Magento 2) and card terminal providers (Worldpay, Verifone, Ingenico, Stripe, Global Payments). 100% of donated funds go to beneficiary charities; Pennies retains up to 10% of each donation to cover operations and technology investment.
Product overview
Pennies is a micro-donations platform operating as a digital charity box for the cashless era. The core platform enables merchants across retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors to offer customers small charitable donations at point of sale, both in physical stores via payment terminals and online at e-commerce checkout. The product portfolio consists of the core Pennies platform supplemented by an API product for custom integrations, and official extensions for major e-commerce platforms including Adobe Magento 2, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and Shopify Plus. Solutions are available across in-person payments (card terminals, self-service kiosks, order and pay apps), e-commerce websites, and mobile applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pennies Micro-Donations Platform Core digital charity box platform that enables merchants to offer customers the opportunity to make small micro-donations to charity at point of sale, both in-store via card terminals and online at e-commerce checkout. For retail, hospitality and leisure merchants.
- Pennies API A REST API that enables simple integration into e-commerce sites, mobile apps and card-present payment systems, allowing merchants to embed micro-donation functionality into their checkout flows.
- Pennies Shopify Plus App Official Pennies app available in the Shopify App Store for Shopify Plus merchants to integrate micro-donation options in their online stores.
- Pennies Salesforce Commerce Cloud Integration Official Pennies integration for Salesforce Commerce Cloud merchants to add micro-donations to their e-commerce journey.
- Pennies Adobe Magento 2 Extension Official Pennies extension for Adobe Magento 2 merchants to enable micro-donations at checkout.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over £81 million raised for charity since 2010
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Pennies
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Pennies technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature5 records
Pennies partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
56 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- The EntertainercoreThe Entertainer, the UK's largest toy retailer, partners with Pennies for micro-donations at tills in over 150 stores. Reached £4 million milestone in donations to four children's hospitals (Alder Hey, Birmingham Children's Hospital, Bristol Children's Hospital, and Great Ormond Street Hospital).
- CurryscoreCurrys partnered with Stripe and Pennies to install next-generation payment terminals across nearly 300 stores in UK and Ireland. Pennies micro-donation prompts integrated into Stripe terminals globally as a retail first.
- Debenhams GroupcoreDebenhams Group raised over £260,000 in first 12 months with Pennies, expanding partnership to other Group brands including Karen Millen and boohooMAN.
- StripecoreStripe partnered with Currys and Pennies to install next-generation payment terminals. Pennies charitable micro-donation prompts integrated into Stripe terminals globally for the first time in retail.
- WorldpaycoreWorldpay offers Pennies micro-donations as part of their suite of solutions for businesses. Quote from Pete Wickes (GM Enterprise EMEA) on working with Pennies since day one to offer secure, intuitive micro-donation product.
- IngenicocoreIngenico enabled over 10 million micro-donations via their terminals, helping raise over £3.8 million for charity. Quote from José Luis Arias Muerza (EVP Head of EMEA) on power of Tech for Good.
- OraclecoreOracle partners with Pennies to bring micro-donation functionality to hospitality sector. Quote from Mark Gausden (VP) on reducing friction in consumer experience and supporting cashless society.
- SuperdrugcoreSuperdrug ran a fundraising campaign for LGBTQIA+ support via Pennies micro-donations.
- PoundlandcorePoundland won Retail Systems Partnerships for Good Award 2021 with Pennies for delivering tangible community impact through innovation.
- TravelodgecoreTravelodge was one of the earliest and founding partners of Pennies. The friendly and affordable hotel firm found ease, simplicity and impact of Pennies a game-changer.
- Greene KingcoreGreene King offers micro-donations to customers in their pubs, with Pennies donation information visible at tables.
- Lidl GBcoreLidl GB partnered with Pennies for micro-donations as part of their community engagement initiatives.
- IcelandcoreIceland Foods partnered with Pennies for micro-donations at checkout.
- B&QcoreB&Q partnered with Pennies for micro-donations at checkout in their stores.
- JD SportscoreJD Group partnered with Pennies, with case study showing impact of micro-donations.
- ScrewfixcoreScrewfix offers in-app micro-donations with Pennies, with no impact on conversion rates reported.
- Domino's PizzacoreDomino's Pizza offers e-commerce micro-donations with Pennies, with no impact on conversion rates reported.
- WhitbreadcoreWhitbread (Costa Coffee, Premier Inn) partnered with Pennies for micro-donations.
- Holland & BarrettcoreHolland & Barrett partnered with Pennies for micro-donations at checkout.
- Shepherd NeamecoreBritain's oldest brewer partnered with Pennies with case study showing impact of micro-donations in their pubs.
- Freddie's FlowerscoreFreddie's Flowers was the first brand to offer recurring micro-donations with Pennies, integrated into their subscription offering. Optimised for unique customer proposition, they've seen thousands of customers opt-in to date.
- English HeritagecoreEnglish Heritage partnered with Pennies for micro-donations at their sites.
- H SamuelcoreH Samuel jewellery retailer partnered with Pennies for micro-donations.
- ToolstationcoreToolstation partnered with Pennies for micro-donations.
- ZizzicoreZizzi Italian restaurant chain partnered with Pennies for micro-donations.
- ASK ItaliancoreASK Italian restaurant chain partnered with Pennies for micro-donations.
- Cotswold OutdoorcoreCotswold Outdoor partnered with Pennies for micro-donations.
- Go OutdoorscoreGo Outdoors outdoor retailer partnered with Pennies for micro-donations.
- Central Co-opcoreCentral Co-op partnered with Pennies with case study showing impact of micro-donations.
- FanaticscoreFanatics partnered with Pennies with case study showing impact of micro-donations.
- musicMagpiecoremusicMagpie partnered with Pennies with case study showing impact of micro-donations.
- London Gatwick AirportcoreLondon Gatwick partnered with Pennies with case study showing impact of micro-donations.
- Retail TrustcoreRetail Trust partnered with Pennies as charity beneficiary.
- Royal British LegioncoreRoyal British Legion partnered with Pennies as charity beneficiary.
- Great Ormond Street Hospital CharitycoreGOSH Charity has received over £2.6 million through Pennies micro-donations since 2011, funding vital care, research, and facilities.
- Cancer Research UKcoreOver £1.4 million raised through Pennies supporting Cancer Research UK's 24/7 Cancer Chat community.
- MindcoreMind mental health charity partnered with Pennies for micro-donation funding.
- VerifonecoreVerifone offers Pennies micro-donation functionality through their payment terminals.
- Global PaymentscoreGlobal Payments partnered with Pennies to offer micro-donation solutions.
- FreedomPaycoreFreedomPay offers Pennies micro-donation functionality.
- GK SoftwarecoreGK Software offers Pennies integration for retailers.
- FlooidcoreFlooid (formerly PCMS) offers Pennies integration for unified commerce.
- QikServecoreQikServe offers Pennies micro-donation functionality for digital ordering.
- ShopifycoreOfficial Pennies app for Shopify Plus merchants to integrate micro-donations.
- Salesforce Commerce CloudcoreOfficial Pennies integration for Salesforce Commerce Cloud users.
- Adobe MagentocoreOfficial Pennies extension for Adobe Magento 2 merchants.
- AcreleccoreAcrelec (A Glory Company) offers Pennies integration for digital signage and ordering.
- PlanetcorePlanet offers Pennies micro-donation functionality.
- Lloyds Bank CardnetcoreLloyds Bank Cardnet offers Pennies micro-donation functionality.
- DNA PaymentscoreDNA Payments offers Pennies micro-donation functionality.
- Trust PaymentscoreTrust Payments (Trust Retail) offers Pennies integration.
- WorldlinecoreWorldline offers Pennies micro-donation functionality.
- ZonalcoreZonal offers Pennies integration for hospitality sector.
- GENE CommercecoreGENE Commerce (Gold-level Adobe partner) integrated Pennies into checkout systems of select clients including Choice Shops, Age UK and Incontinence Choice.
- Digital Poverty AllianceminorCurrys partnered with Pennies to support Digital Poverty Alliance's efforts to combat digital exclusion, with donations facilitated by technology services company LTM.
- Retail Technology ShowcorePennies has been Gold Charity Partner for 10 consecutive years, generating over £65 million through 275 million digital micro-donations. The partnership includes panel discussions and activities at the annual exhibition.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Pennies competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- GoFundMe: Global peer-to-peer fundraising platform widely used by individuals and charities. Comparable as a scaled digital fundraising destination, though focused on campaign-based giving rather than point-of-sale micro-donations.
- Network for Good: US donor-advised fund and online giving platform serving nonprofits with donation processing, grantmaking, and fundraising software. Comparable in delivering giving-as-a-service infrastructure for charities.
- Charities Aid Foundation (CAF): Large UK charity providing workplace giving, payroll giving, and donor-advised fund services. Comparable as a scaled UK grantmaking and giving-services organisation, though operating through payroll and employer channels rather than point-of-sale prompts.
- PayPal Giving Fund: US-based charity that distributes donations made through PayPal's platform to verified nonprofits. Comparable embedded-giving-in-payments model to Pennies, but at much larger scale and through PayPal's proprietary rails.
Direct peers
- JustGiving: UK-based digital fundraising platform enabling individuals and charities to raise money online. Directly comparable as a leading UK digital giving platform, although JustGiving focuses on personal/campaign fundraising rather than point-of-sale micro-donations.
- Give as you Live: UK cashback and donation platform that lets consumers raise money for charity while shopping online. Closely comparable business model to Pennies' micro-donation-at-checkout concept, with overlapping UK retailer and charity partners.
- Easyfundraising: UK shopping-donation platform that collects commissions from retailers when supporters shop online and turns them into charity donations. Comparable in distributing transaction-linked giving to UK charities via merchant partnerships.
Emerging players
- Funraise: Cloud fundraising platform offering donation forms, CRM, and payment processing for nonprofits. Comparable in providing digital giving infrastructure, though serving direct online fundraising rather than embedded POS micro-donations.
- Donorbox: Online donation platform providing recurring giving, donor management, and checkout tools for nonprofits. Comparable as a digital fundraising-infrastructure provider for charities, though aimed at direct online donations rather than POS micro-donations.
Regional players
- Wonderful Organisation: UK-based charity fundraising platform offering donation tools and a workplace-giving scheme. Comparable as a UK digital giving-services provider to charities, with overlap in beneficiary nonprofits.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pennies social profiles
Digital presencePennies financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pennies leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Pennies funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pennies M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pennies
What does Pennies do?
Pennies operates a digital charity box platform that enables merchants to offer customers the option to make small micro-donations (round-up or top-up) at point of sale via card-present payment terminals, e-commerce checkouts, and in-app payments. The platform is delivered through a proprietary API and official integrations for major e-commerce platforms (Shopify Plus, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Magento 2) and card terminal providers (Worldpay, Verifone, Ingenico, Stripe, Global Payments). 100% of donated funds go to beneficiary charities; Pennies retains up to 10% of each donation to cover operations and technology investment.
Is Pennies a public or private company?
Pennies is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Pennies founded?
Pennies was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Pennies based?
Pennies is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Pennies make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Micro-donation fee is the primary driver. The others are foundation and individual funding.
Who are Pennies's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are GoFundMe, Network for Good, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and PayPal Giving Fund. Direct peers are JustGiving, Give as you Live and Easyfundraising. Emerging players are Funraise and Donorbox. Wonderful Organisation is listed as a regional player.
Does Pennies have an API?
Yes. Pennies offers an API that is simple to integrate into e-commerce sites, mobile apps and card present payment systems. The API enables merchants to add micro-donation options at checkout. Developer documentation is at pennies.org.uk/merchants-work-with-pennies.
What industry is Pennies in?
Pennies's product category is Digital Micro-Donation Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAFAB, Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments.