FinTech News
“Donate Now, Pay Later” Platform B Generous Officially Launches
Over the past couple of years, the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) craze has exploded. Companies such as Klarna, Afterpay, and others have popularized the practice of financing purchases over the course of four payments (and without interest) — with Apple soon set to join the fray as well. In turn, a new FinTech is looking to take the concept in a different direction by introducing “Donate Now, Pay Later” in a bid to spur donations to non-profits.
As the DNPL description implies, B Generous will allow users to make donations to nonprofits upfront while financing these contributions with monthly payments. Prospective donors will be able to find the “Donate Now, Pay Later” option on participating organization sites or search non-profits using the service on B Generous’s site. Not only can the platform be used for online donations but can also be utilized to purchase gala tickets, auction items, etc. After making donations with B Generous, donors will receive their tax receipt for the full amount right away. According to the company, donors will be able to use the service for contributions as low as $75 and up to $50,000 in aggregate.
In contrast to what’s been established as the traditional BNPL model — which typically involves four payments made over the course of six weeks — B Generous will offers payment plans ranging from three to nine months. Additionally, no down payment is due at the time of the donation. Nevertheless, B Generous’s service charges no interest or fees for donors.
Commenting on the platform’s launch, B Generous founder and CEO Dominic Kalms stated, “B Generous’ biggest goal is to help nonprofits scale their mission. By using DNPL, nonprofits enjoy larger average donations, higher donor conversion and retention, and more money, faster, and best of all, we put an end to monthly donor cancellations and pledge defaults.”
Kalms went on to note the potential impact the offering could have on donations to charitable organizations, adding, “Last year, Americans donated $484 billion to nonprofits. Yet, about half of all U.S. nonprofits today have less than one month of cash reserves on hand. To put it simply, Americans are incredibly generous, but many nonprofits are still struggling. B Generous fundamentally solves the liquidity problem for nonprofits, without putting pressure on donors’ finances, allowing people to give what they want, not merely what they feel constrained to give.”
Given the proven appetite for “buy now, pay later” services, B Generous’s idea of adapting the concept for charitable giving seems like a smart one. Of course, given the infrastructure that established BNPL services have, the possibility of one or more of them expanding to incorporate “DNPL” shouldn’t be ruled out — especially as the sector becomes more crowded. Then again, B Generous’s dedicated focus and slightly different model could help them stand out and make them a top choice among nonprofit partners even if other FinTech players were to come aboard. With B Generous’s launch in its early days, we’ll have to wait and see if the company will be able to catch on before others catch up.
