How to Donate to Charities with Apple Pay

How-to
By Henry T. Casey
published

You can now use Apple's mobile payment service for donating to nonprofit charities. Here's how to use it.

Apple Pay, the Touch ID-based transaction service used on iPhones and Macs alike, is no longer limited to the enabling of buying more stuff.

Nonprofit organizations such as (RED), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and UNICEF can now accept charitable donations via its easy-to-use payment method.


The company announced the change in a blog post where it promoted the ease of using Apple Pay. Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, elaborated, noting "Websites and apps tell us they see twice as many people actually completing a purchase with Apple Pay than with other payment methods," and that the team at Apple thinks "offering such a simple and secure way to support the incredible work nonprofits do will have a significant impact on the communities they serve.”

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Part of why such an uptick could occur is that donating by Apple Pay removes all of the billing and contact forms you normally fill out. You can still opt to get messages from these organizations, as the message next to an already-checked-off box above the Apple Pay button on the St. Jude site reads "I would like to receive or continue to receive emails from St. Jude."

The list of charities accepting Apple Pay includes the American Red Cross, charity: water, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Feeding America, Save the Children, and the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). The list of charities that will soon support Apple Pay features the American Cancer Society, PBS and its local stations and United Way.

To donate to a charity via Apple Pay, follow these instructions.

  1. Load the website of the charity in Safari on iOS or macOS.
  2. Open the donation page and select an amount.
  3. Pick Apple Pay as your payment method.
  4. Select Donate with Apple Pay
  5. Use the Touch ID sensor on your iPhone or MacBook Pro to complete the donation.
Henry T. Casey
Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.