UK-headquartered FinTech SumUp has partnered with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to develop a digital in-house fundraising technology to make contactless donations.
The ZSL has unveiled a trial run of the new digital fundraising technology that will enable visitors to the London and Whipsnade Zoos to make unforced contactless donations to support the Zoo and its conservation projects.
Founded in 2011, SumUp is a FinTech enterprise that enables businesses to accept card payments at the point-of-sale or on the go. The company offers an end-to-end EMV card acceptance solution built on proprietary hardware and mobile apps. SumUp operates in 32 markets worldwide across Europe, North America and South America.
The partnership between SumUp and ZSL will extend over a three-month trial and will see four donation points installed across four locations in London Zoo and three in Whipsnade Zoo. Visitors will be able to use either Apple Pay or Google Pay.
The donation points will be particularly placed at popular locations in the Zoo’s – with the specific exhibits including Penguin beach, Gorilla Kingdom and Land of the Lions. Zoo visitors will be allowed to provide either £5 to select a dinner option for the penguins or gorillas, or £10 to aid ZSL’s conservation efforts, such as safeguarding lions worldwide.
This new technology is part of ZSL’s effort to address the funding shortfall following the COVID-19-enforced lockdown, which saw the organisation lose millions of pounds in revenue.
ZSL’s fundraising and engagement director James Wren said, “ZSL is focussed on protecting threatened species around the world, and our two Zoos are the perfect showcase and hub for our global work. Home to incredible species, many of which are critically endangered, or even extinct-in-the wild, we know that seeing these animals up close inspires our visitors and members to do more for the natural world – be that changing their behaviour to be more environmentally friendly or raising money to support our vital conservation work.
“It’s our hope that installing these simple-to-use donation points at our two Zoos will make it even easier for our visitors to take immediate action for wildlife – a quick tap will make a huge difference for wildlife.”
This partnership comes on the back of a hugely prosperous $750m funding round for SumUp instigated to help fund its acquisition plans.
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