OMG button to make mobile giving even easier
Howard Lake | 15 September 2015 | News
Giving via mobile phone is getting simpler and faster. Open Mobile Global has created the OMG Button which lets you donate simply by clicking the donate button.
When the donor taps their screen to give, the system reads the device’s SIM card and takes the donation from their mobile bill. The full value of the gift is received by the charity.
Paul de Gregorio of Open Mobile Global describes the button as “a frictionless method of taking a mobile payment in any digital environment”. He adds that it “works on any mobile phone and can be embedded in any site”.
He explained:
“This is a real breakthrough. While PSMS [premium SMS] allowed for rapid, almost-frictionless donations via mobile, it has limitations when you try to use it in a digital environment.
“Now we have a way to allow mobile browsers to give by simply tapping their screen. And because the gift is tied to a mobile number, we can also deliver great stewardship and follow-up appeals if donors want them.
“You can put a button on any site where you have some control of the code. And where you don’t, a simple link will take supporters directly to a bespoke donation page”.
How to use it
De Gregorio said that the OMG Button can be used in various ways, from corporate partnerships (where corporate supporters add the button to their site) to incorporation with a charity’s social channels and messaging.
Other possible uses include:
* Linking to a payment page from an email, a tweet or an SMS.
* Using the new Facebook donate button to link to an OMG Button page.
* Using paid social to drive potential donors towards these pages.
* Including a button on a your mobile optimised or general check-out pages.
There is no automatic Gift Aid message included, but that, together with whether and how charities choose to respond in the follow-up thank you message, is down to the charity.
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Test it out
You can test the OMG Button by making a 50p donation using it to DEC’s Nepal appeal. Donations will be matched by Open Mobile Global.
It works best without wifi. If you’re on a desktop you can still use it but of course you’ll be asked for your phone number and have to respond to a code texted to you for confirmation.
The one click option on desktop – on mobile you don’t have to add in your mobile number.
The two click option
OMG in OMG Button?
The OMG stands for Open Mobile Global, sister company to mobile giving specialists Open Fundraising. But doubtless it doesn’t harm their brand if people assume it means Oh My God.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.