Charities have an opportunity to activate an emerging donation channel early—one where donations happen at the moment of payment
A new generation of donation infrastructure is bringing charitable giving directly into everyday transactions.
For decades, fundraising has relied on attracting donors to a campaign, event, or appeal. But donor behaviour is changing. Giving is becoming more spontaneous, more embedded, and increasingly tied to everyday commerce.
Many Canadians are familiar with the experience of rounding up their bill with a major retailer in store, or supporting a charity during online checkout. Now, a model developed by Goodszilla, (a Canadian platform) is enabling charities to receive contributions directly through both online checkout and in store payment terminals and is accessible to charities and retailers of all sizes.
From online giving to embedded commerce
Goodszilla first launched within ecommerce, allowing merchants to present a simple donation option during online checkout. The model has already generated over $525,000 in online donations without requiring donors to leave their purchase journey.
Now, the platform is expanding into physical payment terminals, unlocking a significantly larger fundraising channel tied to everyday retail and service transactions.
Through integrations with Moneris, Global Payments, and smart terminal providers including Ingenico and PAX, charities can now be present wherever payments happen. This opens new possibilities, from national retailer partnerships to local businesses supporting local causes in their own communities.
How the model works
At checkout, customers are presented with a donation option that is seamless and embedded in the existing transaction:
- No separate donation flow
- No added operational burden for charities
- No additional fundraising campaign required
- All donations are securely processed and disbursed via PayPal Giving Fund Canada, providing compliant fund distribution infrastructure for registered charities.
A new layer of fundraising infrastructure
Embedded giving adds a new, scalable layer to fundraising for charities, this means:
- Leveraging opportunities in everyday consumer spending
- Access to new donors outside traditional fundraising channels
- Passive, recurring revenue tied to merchant activity
- Omnichannel reach across ecommerce and in store payments
- Transparent processing and reporting
With Goodszilla’s point of sale rollout launching through the Moneris ecosystem, charities have an opportunity to get involved and activate this emerging channel early.
The future of giving is embedded
As payment technology evolves and smart terminals become platforms for value-added services, charitable giving is becoming part of the checkout experience itself. The way people give is changing. Giving is no longer a separate action; it is becoming part of everyday life.
With national payment partnerships in place and expansion underway, embedded checkout giving is moving from early adoption to mainstream infrastructure.
Organizations interested in activating donations through checkout are invited to book a call to discuss collaborating.
Toju Ogbeide is the Founder and CEO of Goodszilla.
