# Traditional payment methods like cash still more popular than digital, says Halifax Giving Monitor - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/03/24/traditional-payment-methods-like-cash-still-more-popular-than-digital-says-halifax-giving-monitor/ - Published: 2015-03-24T07:20:18+00:00 - Author: Howard Lake **Charity donors are much more likely to give via traditional payment methods than online or via text, according to research published in the annual Halifax Giving Monitor.** In the past year only 9% of donors have given by text and 13% online. The research is based on internal customer data at Halifax and a consumer survey of over 2,000 respondents prepared on its behalf by Marketing Sciences. ## Advertisement The top methods of giving over the past year were: • Cash: 66% • Direct debit: 25% • JustGiving/other online giving site: 13% • Text donation: 9% • By card directly to charity: 8% • By card over the phone: 2% • Payroll giving: 2% • ATM giving: 1% (Base: Charity donors i.e. all ever donating to charity (1767) = 88% of all consumers) ## Customer data included This is the first time that customer data has been included in the Halifax Giving Monitor. Looking just at that, 36.5% of customers have donated to charity by either direct debit, standing order, credit card or faster payment in the last year. This is an increase of 7.3% in the past year, amounting to £833 million. A total of 2.8 million Halifax customers made regular donations to charity by direct debit, working out as an average of £82 per donor. People over 65 are the most likely to donate through their bank account, with two fifths (40%) of customers in that age range making a donation in this way. ## Online payments increasing Halifax notes that payments and donations via JustGiving, Virgin Money Giving increased by 12% over the previous year. However, they still make up just 6.7% of identifiable customer spend in the last year. While payments through [JustGiving](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/03/16/justgiving-hmrc-agreement-restoring-lost-gift-aid-family-donations/), Virgin Money Giving and Paypal made up just 6.7% of identifiable customer spend in the last year, this is an increase of 12% on the previous year, when only 6% of identifiable spend was through these channels. Nick Young, Head of Halifax Current Accounts said: > “With ever increasing numbers of our customers choosing the convenience of online > and mobile banking, it is surprising that many are not embracing the digital age > when it comes to charitable donations, despite being a very generous nation.” ## Top charities More Halifax customers donated to Cancer Research UK than any other charity, with over half a million making donations. The charity also received the larget total amount from customers, over £25 million. Indeed, customers have remained consistent in their support: the top 10 charities they donated to have not changed since the previous year. ![Top 10 charities supported: Halifax Giving Monitor 2015](https://www.fundraising. co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/halifax-giving-monitor-2015-top-10-charities.jpg) The top charities in terms of customer donations (to the nearest 1,000) were: • Cancer Research UK: 545k • British Heart Foundation: 372k • British Red Cross: 336k • Oxfam: 323k • NSPCC: 171k • RSPB: 169k • RSPCA: 149k • Barnardo’s: 148k • Save the Children: 135k • Dogs Trust: 127k The National Trust, which would otherwise top this list, is excluded because the researchers classified transaction as membership payments rather than donations.   Photo: [Tip jar](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-160538843/stock-photo-using-the-rainy-day-fund-coins-spilling-out-of-a-jar.html) by Rob Hyron on Shutterstock.com * **[SmartGiving redevelopment offers further customisation](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/06/09/smartgiving-redevelopment-offers-further-customisation/)**( 9 June 2015) * **[Even the most ‘unpopular’ cause can attract donations, says University of Kent research](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/06/17/even-the-most-unpopular-cause-can-attract-donations-says-university-of-kent-research/)**( 17 June 2015) * **[EasyJet renews Unicef support with on-board collection for Syrian children](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/09/16/easyjet-renews-unicef-support-with-on-board-collection-for-syrian-children/)**( 16 September 2015) ![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader- 2x.gif)