Pennies Hits £90 Million Milestone in Micro-Donations and Reveals 2026 Award Winners

UK micro-donation charity Pennies has reached a significant milestone, facilitating over 360 million individual donations to raise more than £90 million for 1,150 charities. For fintech and retail professionals, the rapid acceleration of these digital "round-ups" at the point of sale demonstrates how embedded giving is becoming a standard component of the modern payment experience.

What was announced

At its annual Autumn Celebration Event in London, Pennies recognised the partners and technology providers that have scaled the micro-donation movement. The event, attended by over 150 leaders from the retail, hospitality, and payments sectors, highlighted that while it took 13 years to raise the first £50 million, an additional £40 million has been generated in just the last three years. This momentum is driven by the integration of donation prompts into both physical terminals and online checkouts.

The 7th annual Pennies Awards honoured several key implementations. Currys received the Merchant Impact Award for deploying round-up prompts across 4,000 Stripe terminals in 296 stores within three months, raising £1 million for the Digital Poverty Alliance. Astound Digital was recognised for its work with London Gatwick, which became the first UK airport to embed micro-donations into its online car-parking checkout, raising £100,000 for Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex.

Other winners included Musgrave Northern Ireland, which expanded a six-store trial to 72 locations, raising over £200,000 for Action Cancer. Toolstation and the British Heart Foundation were noted for raising £200,000 in the first eight months of a five-year partnership. Additionally, Worldpay received the Judges’ Award for a 15-year collaboration that has integrated Pennies into the payment systems of numerous high-street brands.

"We've now passed £90 million raised from 360 million consumer clicks. It took us 13 years to raise the first £50 million, and in the last three years we've raised another £40 million. That is what momentum looks like."

Alison Hutchinson CBE

The companies involved

Pennies is the UK’s leading micro-donation charity, operating as a fintech-led movement that enables customers to donate small change to charity when paying by card or digital wallet. By partnering with retailers and payment providers, it creates a frictionless way for consumers to give during everyday transactions.

Worldpay, a major global payment processor, is currently a part of Global Payments. It plays a critical role in the micro-donation ecosystem by providing the underlying infrastructure that allows merchants to toggle donation prompts on their payment terminals. The company has a long-standing presence in the UK market, supporting many of the country's largest retail brands.

Currys is a prominent technology and electronics retailer in the UK. Its recent adoption of Stripe terminals to facilitate Pennies donations represents a significant investment in its physical store infrastructure. Stripe, which sponsored the event, provides the financial infrastructure and hardware that enables these rapid rollouts across large-scale retail estates.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed the evolution of Worldpay’s role in the embedded finance and sustainability sectors. Recently, we covered how Celerant and Worldpay Launch Embedded Finance Tools to Boost Retailer Cash Flow, highlighting the processor's focus on merchant services beyond simple transaction handling. In the hardware space, Newland Payment Technology Secures Worldpay Express Certification for Android Terminals, a move that expands the range of devices capable of supporting complex software like Pennies. Furthermore, Worldpay has shown a commitment to social and environmental goals, as seen when Worldpay Collaborates With ekko to Embed Sustainability Into Payments and when ClubManager Accelerates UK Expansion with Worldpay’s Embedded Payments.

What this means

The acceleration of micro-donations suggests that the "frictionless" nature of modern payments is being successfully leveraged for social good. As traditional fundraising methods face headwinds due to the cost-of-living crisis and changing consumer habits, the point of sale is becoming the most effective channel for charitable engagement. This shift puts pressure on payment service providers (PSPs) to offer "giving-as-a-service" as a standard feature rather than a bespoke integration. For the wider fintech sector, the success of Pennies proves that small, high-volume digital actions can aggregate into significant capital, raising questions about how other financial services—such as micro-investing or carbon offsetting—might be similarly embedded into the checkout flow.