Charity card pay roundups raised 鈧�7m in France in 2019
The practice of 鈥渞ounding up鈥� payments made by card and giving the extra centimes to charity has raised 鈧�7 million in France this year, double the amount raised last year, new figures have suggested.
Payment 鈥渞ound ups鈥� are known as 鈥�micro-dons鈥� (micro donations) or 鈥�arrondis solidaires鈥� (supportive round ups) in France. They allow customers paying by card on a participating card machine to opt to 鈥渞ound up鈥� their purchase amount (e.g. 鈧�2.73 rounded up to 鈧�3), and give the extra to charity.
The average amount given is around 25 centimes, Europe 1 said, on Monday December 23.
The company MicroDon, which manages the system, said that so far, 25 chains across France had installed the charity option at their 4,782 card payment points. The money goes on to benefit 260 charity associations, it said, and the shop or chain itself does not take any share of the money.
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Since the launch of the system five years ago, this method of giving has raised nearly 鈧�40 million in donations, a study by OpinionWay found.
The practice is still more common in Paris and Ile-de-France, with 鈧�1.8 million of the total raised in 2019 coming from the 1,094 participating card payment points in that region. Yet, many other regions, including Corsica, reached 鈧�100,000 in donations for the first time this year.
In response to the significant increase in donations for 2019, a director at : 鈥淭wo years ago, this kind of collection was very 鈥楶arisian鈥� and [more well known in] Ile-de-France, but since then, it has spread across France.
鈥淭he network of partner chains, between urban areas, shopping centres, and smaller points of sale in town centres have helped to re-balance the map of donations."
