Twitter users can now tweet to donate cash to the UK's Children in Need charity campaign, 'Be a Hero', through a service developed by the Post Office and IMImobile.
Users who would like to make a donation need to follow the Post Office (@PostOffice) on Twitter and tweet the hashtag #MakeMeAHero. Tippers then receive a direct message with a URL to a landing page (served within Twitter) through which they can donate £1, £3 or £5.
The donation will be debited from the user’s phone bill or pay-as-you-go balance.
The system, accessible across mobile, tablet and desktop PC, uses the mobile payment service Payforit, with the full amount going to BBC Children in Need.
Peter Markey, the Post Office’s chief marketing officer, says: “As a business, the Post Office is modernising to meet the needs of customers across the UK, and we know innovation can’t stop in branch or on our website. Being the first organisation in the UK to give customers the ability to donate to a charity so close to the nation’s heart by simply tweeting to donate is a social media barrier we’re delighted to break through.”
Children in Need is not the only UK charity looking at innovative ways to part consumers with their cash. Comic Relief, the UK charity that raises cash for good causes, told Finextra earlier this year that it is exploring the potential for bitcoin donations at its next biennial telethon.