Salvation Army 'Kettle Pay' option allows digital donations

One of the country’s oldest charitable giving campaigns is going digital.

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign, a fixture of the Christmas shopping season, will now give people the option to give not by dropping cash or coins in the kettle but by using their smartphones.

The Salvation Army Western Pennsylvania Division has placed smart chips and QR codes on Red Kettle signs across Western Pennsylvania, allowing shoppers to “bump” or scan their phones to make a digital donation, said spokeswoman Ava Henderson.

“Kettle Pay will be on the signs that accompany all of the kettles and kettle bell ringers,” she said.

Shoppers will be directed to a custom donation page that accepts Apple Pay or Google Pay options. The funds will then be distributed to local Salvation Army units based on the donor’s billing ZIP code, and an email receipt will be sent directly to their phone.

“Kettle Pay makes it even easier for donors to join the Salvation Army’s fight for good,” said Maj. Raphael Jackson, commander of the Western Pennsylvania Division.

Now in its 129th year, the Red Kettle campaign is one of the oldest and largest charitable campaigns in the world. Every year, the campaign raises millions of dollars for the Salvation Army’s charitable programs.

The campaign usually runs from Black Friday to Christmas Eve.