# RSM 2000 acquires text donation business Vir2

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/02/10/rsm-2000-acquires-text-donation-business-vir2/
- Published: 2016-02-10T15:51:44+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Direct debit and card payment service provider RSM 2000 Ltd has acquired charity
text donation specialist Vir2. The purchase means RSM 2000 is the first combined
fully regulated and compliant payment service provider and charity text donation
service**.

The purchase of Vir2 includes all its business activities, staff and brand.

Vir2 has been providing SMS services for charities since 2005 and its founder Roger
Craven campaigned for the introduction of VAT free text donations. He also represented
the interests of the charity sector on the board of the Mobile Data Association 
which was the trade body which wrote the rules for text donation.

## Advertisement

Vir2 offers text services to hundreds of charities, large and small, and have supported
prominent text donation campaigns including [Stephen Sutton’s “#thumbsupforstephen”](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/05/06/thumbs-up-what-i-learned-from-stephen-sutton/)
for Teenage Cancer Trust.

Nigel Walters, Managing Director of RSM 2000, said:

> “Donors naturally expect charities to accept payments in whatever way is most 
> convenient to the donor. We want to simplify the lives of our fundraising clients.
> We can now offer every form of electronic payment a charity needs with one set
> of contacts to provide help and support.”

Roger Craven, founder of Vir2, added:

> “RSM 2000 are experts in providing secure payment systems. SMS suppliers don’t
> have to be registered as payment institutions or be PCI Tier 1 compliant, but 
> RSM 2000’s accreditations represent the gold standard and anything less is rapidly
> becoming an untenable position for charities.”

The acquisition comes amid increasing concerns about the risk of reputational damage
to charities from supplier relationships, which have featured in several media investigations
over the past year. Craven points out RSM 2000 are registered with the Financial
Conduct Authority for Payment Services, and Consumer Credit activities, and are 
PCI Tier 1 compliant too.

Craven will continue to work with the business.

[RSM 2000](http://www.rsm2000.co.uk) offers charity rates for card processing and
provides special direct debit services for charities. It also plans to market is
combined payment and SMS services to businesses.

 

_Image: [mobile payment in sterling](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-143321239/stock-photo-m-commerce-flat-design-smartphone-icon-for-mobile-shopping-and-payment-with-cellphone-and-pound.html)
by Welf Aaron on Shutterstock.com_

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 * **[Donr introduces donation safety net feature](https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/02/18/donr-introduces-donation-safety-net-feature/)**(
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