Every year, during the month of July, South Africa is reminded of not only its accomplishments, but also the shared setbacks we continue to face. As the nation faces growth in social and economic sectors, Mandela Day serves as a call to action, a prompt to identify those in need and work hard to make a difference in their lives.
That goes for both individuals and businesses. For businesses, Mandela Day represents the need for good corporate citizenry, the importance of community resilience and the promise of sustainable development. Payfast, South Africa’s leading payment provider, recognises those things and is committed to supporting charities, causes and non-profit organisations (NPOs) by enabling them with world-class digital payment solutions.
“Systemic concerns are not just social issues. They are direct macroeconomic risks that can lead to slowed growth and a failure of trust in the institutions and infrastructure built to serve South Africans and their needs,” says Mpho Sadiki, Managing Director: Merchant Services, Africa at Payfast and Network International. “The country needs solutions at scale, which is what makes financial services and payment processing a high-impact variable when it comes to supporting organisations and creating lasting, widespread change.”
NPO sector: Social impact through next-generation payments
As of September 2024, South Africa was home to just over 295,000 NPOs. Like many other organisations, including merchants and small businesses, the sector has benefited from the adoption of digital payments and the rollout of next-generation payment rails, as well as impact solutions such as Payfast Cause accounts. Year on year we’ve noted a 16% increase active cause accounts with transactions up 18% These increases were attributed to higher customer engagement among customers and account holders, reflecting consistent and growing support for the sector.
Instead of relying on physical cash and dealing with manual administrative workflows, NPOs can use digital payments to lower their overhead costs and direct more effort and resources towards their mission objectives. Channels such as mobile wallets, QR codes and automated recurring billing open the door to a new kind of financial resilience. NPOs can accept micro-donations and establish more predictable and sustainable revenue streams.
“Being able to accept digital payments also contributes to the financial integrity of non-profits. They allow for transparent and automated accounting processes, creating an auditable trail that helps build trust with donors. More importantly, these rails enable scalability, meaning that they can grow as the non-profit does and thus maximise its social impact,” Sadiki explains.
Ladles of Love: Sustainable growth leading to lasting change
An organisation that has benefitted from payment processing solutions in its work to enact socio-economic change is Cape Town-based Ladles of Love. The brainchild of restaurant owner Danny Diliverto, the initiative was established in 2014, beginning life as a small group of volunteers serving hot meals to homeless people.
More than a decade later, Ladles of Love has grown exponentially and now serves nearly a million meals a month to vulnerable people, including children in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng provinces. The initiative operates two programmes: Feed the Soil and Realise a Dream. The aim is to encourage composting among householders and the hospitality industry while providing skills development, training and capital to food entrepreneurs.
In 2018, Ladles of Love integrated Payfast as its online payment solution to offer donors a secure payment portal. Upon signing up for a Payfast account, the organisation also received a free webpage on the Payfast Cause Index to showcase its work and receive once-off or recurring online donations. In 2019, it launched an online food and merchandise store on its website, through which supporters can purchase a variety of items via Payfast-supported payment methods such as credit card and Instant EFT.
The result of these integrations has been an increased level of organisational resilience. Ladles of Love has continued to scale its operations, making it as easy as possible for people to get involved in feeding communities and transforming people’s lives.
Making a difference: One vision, one payment at a time
This Mandela Day, as we’re encouraged to dedicate 67 minutes or more of our time to making a difference in our communities, NPOs and charitable causes are supported by digital payment infrastructure that enables donations and facilitates commerce to deliver high-impact change.
“South Africa’s non-profits, and indeed the broader merchant and small business landscapes, play a critical role in realising a shared vision of South Africa as an inclusive and prosperous nation,” Sadiki concludes. “It is our responsibility as Payfast, in our capacities as a corporate citizen and business partner, to also help realise that vision. The result is an ecosystem of supported, resilient organisations, working side by side with the help of leading financial technologies and solutions.”
Ladles of Love is just one of the thousands of organisations that have registered for a free Payfast Cause account and who leverage Payfast solutions to accept donations and work to address South Africa’s leading socio-economic challenges. From enabling sales to expanding their reach by accepting different payment methods, those solutions play an important role in helping organisations transform lives across South Africa.
Visit Accept Payments & Charity Donations Online | Payfast by Network to learn more about Payfast solutions, or read the full Payfast and Ladles of Love case study here.