The goDonate Online Donations Report 2022 reveals donors’ use of digital wallets – including PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay – has significantly increased year-on-year.
Digital wallets now account for a fifth of monthly online donation payments, and nearly half (43%) of all one-off donations made online.
Meanwhile, the goDonate study of donor activity, based on analysis of online donations totalling more than £30m, also found the average one-off donation value increased by 7% in the past year to £51.97.
Digital wallet donations on the rise
Segmenting analysed donations by payment type reveals the number of one-off ApplePay donations increased by 60% compared to 2020. GooglePay, although a smaller share of the transactions, also jumped by 45% compared to 2020:
One-off donations to UK charities by payment type, 2021
In addition, the use of digital wallets (where offered) for regular giving is also rising, while monthly donations via Direct Debit are declining. The latter accounted for 65% of online donation transactions in 2020, while use of digital wallets shows year-on-year growth:
| Credit card | PayPal | Apple Pay | Google Pay |
| 58% | 33% | 8% | 1.5% |
Monthly donation payment method, 2021
| Direct Debit | Credit card | PayPal | Apple Pay |
| 58% | 21% | 15% | 5% |
Vicky Reeves, Managing Director goDonate, said: “The use of digital wallets for donations continues to significantly rise, showing users are increasingly turning to their phones and are more comfortable using digital wallets for payments.
“It is now more vital than ever that charities offer these choices of payment within their donation journeys for both one-off donations and for monthly gifts.
“Another key observation is that the average gift amount a supporter donates has increased since 2020 – a promising sign of the UK population’s generosity, despite ongoing hardships.”
Online donation insights revealed
Online Donations Report 2022 has been produced using anonymised data gathered from gifts made through goDonate.
goDonate is used to power donor experiences on a number of high-profile charities’ websites, including Prostate Cancer UK, Alzheimer’s Society, NSPCC, YMCA, and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
By downloading and reading the report, charities can gain a better insight about supporters’ online donation preferences. The report also offers some key tips based on the findings as well as trends in the data: such as gift-aid, communication opt-in rates, in-memory donations, average gift by payment type and donation trends month on month.
Online Donations Report 2022 is available free of charge to charities on request.