Ingenico (Euronext : FR0000125346 - ING), leading worldwide provider of payment solutions, today announces that Italian restaurant chain, Zizzi, rolls out Pennies, the electronic charity box, to its nationwide network of 118 restaurants to raise more money for The Prince's Trust.
This follows the success of a trial in a small number of venues which began last December. Technology partner Ingenico has played a key role in the expansion of the scheme by integrating the 'Pennies solution' into the EFT930, Ingenico's market leading mobile Chip and PIN payment terminal.
Customers visiting the restaurant chain, who pay for their meal by card, have the choice to top up their bill by 20p. Every one of the extra pennies given goes to charity. Of the money raised, 75% is given to Zizzi's nominated charity, The Prince's Trust. The remaining 25% is divided equally between ten UK people related charities*. To date Zizzi customers have made more than 16,000 donations; that figure is expected to rise sharply as the scheme extends to the whole Zizzi network. The restaurant chain also offers work placements to young people as part of a longer term partnership.
The Prince's Trust is currently celebrating 35 years of changing young people's lives. In 2010, it gave financial and practical support to over 46,000 young people to promote the development of key skills, confidence and motivation to help them move into work, education or training.
Pennies is also available online with Domino's Pizza and Travelodge, and on the high street through The Entertainer's toy shop chain. Since launching late last year, over 600,000 consumer donations have been received through Pennies, raising £140,000 for a total of 18 UK charities. The majority of the individual donations have been 10p or less, demonstrating how pennies can add up.
The key features of Pennies are:
It's affordable - micro-donations of pennies not pounds.
It's a choice to give - no commitment, no personal details required.
It's simple and quick to do - a one-touch process to donate.
It's a private, no hassle decision - the question is asked discreetly on the Terminal
Helen Jones, Managing Director of Zizzi, said:
We are delighted to be working with Pennies and raising more money for our charity partner, The Prince's Trust. 20p is a small amount to give, but it will make a huge difference to disadvantaged youth if all our customers contribute. We really hope they'll choose to get involved."
Craig Doyle, Managing Director of Ingenico for UK and Northern Europe, said: We're delighted to have been able to present Zizzi and Pennies with a payment solution to raise money for The Prince's Trust. It'll be easier than ever for customers to make a small donation when paying their bills and help to improve the lives of young people across the UK."
Alison Hutchinson, CEO of The Pennies Foundation, added: We're excited at the pace of Pennies development. It is fantastic to see the role out of the solution to the entire network of Zizzi restaurants. We hope that customers enjoying a meal will choose to top-up to help improve a young life. Card use is on the rise, last year, £26 billion** more was spent using debit cards than using notes and coins. We want to harness the growing power of the card. It lets consumers make a real difference, through giving a little to charity by card in the same way that we've traditionally dropped coins into a collecting tin."
Notes to Editors:
* 25% of the funds raised will go to Carer's UK, Children's Hospices UK, Children's Burn's Trust, Alzheimer's Society, Macmillan Cancer Support, NSPCC, Shelter, The Prince's Trust, RNIB and Youth Music.
** Payments Council press release June 2011 ("Debit cards on top with continued spending surge" - data relates to 2010).