A move towards independent CRM solutions brings greater recruitment and donations flexibility says payments expert, PayPoint.
Digital payments expert, PayPoint, reports it has seen a market change with new charity clients moving away from payment solutions tied to legacy Customer Relationship Management (CRM) providers. The need for a wider range of digital donation methods offering greater flexibility is driving charities towards independent payment solutions that integrate easily with any CRM.
PayPoint’s experience echoes the findings of recent industry research that confirms the positive impact digital solutions are having on the number of active charity supporters in the UK. Charities increased their digital donations by 118% in 2021, compared with results from the previous year 1. Digital recruitment saw a similar rise in 2021, jumping 117%1.
Jason Levy, Charities Strategic Development and Partnerships Lead at PayPoint commented; “Independent research mirrors trends we have experienced in the last couple of years. Whilst our charity clients’ direct debit services have held up well, there has, without question, been significant growth in online engagement and donation activity.
“What is particularly interesting in our experience, is a move by increasing numbers of larger charities to CRM systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce, stepping way from legacy CRM systems. The primary reason behind this change is the need to give people wider payment options they expect when making donations.
“Flexibility and the ability to control when, how often and how much to donate is a key factor in the success of today’s digital payments and these functions typically cannot be easily integrated into legacy systems.”
PayPoint is well-placed to work alongside the trends that have accelerated over the past two years and is working in close collaboration with charities and service providers to support and lead on the introduction of new solutions as the sector moves from cash to digital payments. PayPoint has brought Direct Debit capability in-house and added extra innovative mobile donation products to its portfolio but also extended its reach into new sectors.
Concludes Jason Levy; “The shift to digital within the charity sector has clearly been prompted by the events of the last two years. Face-to-face fundraising will remain a vital way for charities to raise funds, but the use of digital integrations to support donor acquisition will not be making a U-turn. As a result, charities, along with social housing and local government are increasingly turning to payment experts like PayPoint to integrate with CRM systems that better enable the provision of multiple methods of payment, including digital, in a fast-moving environment.”
