American Express has launched a pilot of a program called Round-Up, which lets card members round up their purchases to contribute to the charities of their choosing.
Beginning Thursday (Sept. 8), the program will let participants round up purchases to the nearest $1, $5 and $10, according to a press release. Round-Up is being launched with the help of Philanthropi, a portfolio company of Amex Ventures that offers a “Giving as a Service” platform.
American Express is piloting the program by invitation to a select group of members in the United States and its territories. The pilot is open only to Primary Card Members, the release stated.
Round-Up will meet the needs of the 79% of the consumers it surveyed who said that it is important to support and donate to local charities, according to the release.
“Amex card members have expressed wanting simple ways to make charitable contributions with their dollars and have always prioritized giving back, so we’re extremely excited to pilot the Amex Round-Up feature in partnership with Philanthropi,” said Amex Digital Labs Vice President and Head of Product Lisa Yokoyama in the release. “We believe the Amex Round-Up program has the power to drive significant contributions to the charities our customers care about.”
Research by PYMNTS has found that in addition to donating to charity, consumers also want to know that the financial institutions (FIs) they patronize are also generous givers.
Read more: Survey Shows Local Charitable Support Holds Big Sway Over Where People Bank
An FI’s lack of support for local charities can convince one-third of customers to take their accounts elsewhere, and the age groups most impacted by charity participation are crucial: bridge millennials and millennials.
In addition, the study showed that nearly 75% of consumers donated money to charity in the past year, and 42% volunteered their time.
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