Tag: charity

As a proud corporate member of the Charity Retail Association, B4B Payments understands charities operate on tight budgets, so every penny counts. This can make handling and reporting on cash a complex process, not to mention a source of stress for finance teams. 

We have helped many charities move to a cashless payment process, allowing them to work more efficiently, stay compliant, and deliver a better experience for volunteers, staff, clients, or beneficiaries. Recently, we were delighted to start supporting Gilgal by providing them with our card payment solution, which streamlines their processes and enhances their financial efficiency by helping them manage their expenses.

About Gilgal

Gilgal provides safe, short-term accommodation for women and children who are fleeing from domestic abuse.

Founded 30 years ago, Gilgal has been a lifeline for many. Offering 24-hour support all year round, not only are Gilgal committed to confidentiality, safety, and security for all its residents, they provide a space for survivors to be seen, heard, and supported, and to begin to rebuild their lives.

The Challenge

Before partnering with B4B Payments, Gilgal relied heavily on cash to manage expenses, which led to a lack of seamless control and oversight over petty cash and inefficient expense tracking and management.

They aimed to eliminate petty cash usage to enhance financial control and accountability. Through improved expense management, it directed more resources to support women and children in need.

Why B4B Payments

After exploring several other expense management solutions, Gilgal’s team chose B4B Payments due to our unique understanding of the sector, experience working with several charities, robust and compliant payments technology solutions and dedicated team support.

Sanja Kalik, the CEO of Gilgal, says, “Finding the right technology solution was important to us and our use case for an expense solution as a non-profit. We were impressed by the easy-to-use platform, dedication, and support the B4B Payments provided.”

Benefits Experienced

“B4B’s prepaid card solutions have transformed our expense management. It was simple to get started, and they have been very supportive.” – Sanja Kalik, the CEO of Gilgal.

Since leveraging our expense management solution and B4B prepaid Mastercard card, Gilgal has experienced numerous benefits, including:

• Ease of funding, issuing expense cards, tracking and monitoring expenses
• View real-time statements, balances, and transactions for accounting reconciliation

This shift has led to enhanced financial accountability and transparency, reducing the risk of errors and misuse of funds when working with volunteers. Additionally, the new payment system has allowed staff to respond quicker to client needs, utilising the pre-approved amounts on B4B cards instead of requiring sign-off for every petty cash transaction. This has led to more efficient purchases for both in-refuge and marketing activities.

We are glad to support and collaborate with the Gilgal team on shared goals, fostering a strong partnership. At B4B Payments, we look forward to continually enhancing its financial operations and ensuring the sustainability of its crucial services.

“At B4B Payments, we are honoured to support organisations like Gilgal that are making a profound impact on communities. Our payments and prepaid Mastercard solutions streamline financial processes and ensure accountability and compliance, enabling Gilgal to allocate more resources towards their vital mission of supporting women and children in need.” – Tim Robson,  at B4B Payments.

B4B has a long history of supporting charities that align with social and financial inclusion values. These organisations use B4B’s proprietary technology and prepaid Mastercard card solution to manage and distribute funds in challenging circumstances. However, these organisations are more than just clients, and B4B goes beyond standard commercial relationships to support these important causes.

Human Appeal

In 2016, B4B was approached by Human Appeal, a non-profit organisation working globally to strengthen humanity’s fight against poverty, social injustice and natural disasters.

The organisation aims to invest in real, effective solutions by providing immediate relief and establishing self-sustaining development programmes.

One of the main challenges facing Human Appeal was managing the process of buying emergency supplies such as food, blankets, and other urgently needed essentials. These purchases would need to be made by field agents who were face-to-face with victims and their often-desperate circumstances.

The B4B team saw that their expense management solution using prepaid cards was the perfect solution for Human Appeal.

Tracking and control

The expense cards provide an alternative to cash when paying for essentials like food, shelter, or medical care. They also give team leaders access to a portal so disbursed funds can be tracked and spending monitored. In emergencies, funds can be topped up remotely, no matter where the cards may be.

As a Sharia-compliant financial organisation, B4B and Human Appeal are growing together, allowing funds from Zakat to be spent compliantly and where most needed. Being Sharia-compliant means the aid dispatched fulfils the principles of the Islamic faith and adheres to Sharia law. 

Ease of use, practicality, and functionality

Human Appeal manages its prepaid card portfolio through an intuitive, easy-to-use platform and app that enables staff to send representatives recurring or one-off payments instantly.

For the representatives in the field, the process is simple and convenient. They receive their B4B card and complete financial visibility through the app, enabling them to monitor and manage their funds in one place. Balances can be checked, and transactions can be reviewed at a glance. Features such as real-time SMS notifications help representatives keep track of their spending and balances.

Growing together

In 2023, the two organisations were able to support each other’s growth into the US market, which is strategically vital for both organisations.

As part of the planning and setting up of its new centre in California, Human Appeal extended its UK relationship to include the services of B4B’s operation in the US in March 2023. This extension of the relationship enabled Human Appeal to issue B4B Visa cards to its US-based team.

The next step in the growth of the partnership is to integrate Human Appeal’s German and Irish entities with B4B’s expense programme. For these entities, B4B has once again offered to adhere to its lower rates offered for humanitarian organisations. 

“Human Appeal has worked with B4B for many years and have found them an ideal partner to work with to support our charitable work. We have found B4B responsive to our needs and have extended the partnership to our sister organisation in the US. We look forward to working with B4B in the future and growing our collaboration.” – Asif Nazar, Head of Finance, Human Appeal.  

Summary: B4B supporting people in need

The B4B Payments solution is designed to be as straightforward and innovative as possible. For charities, its prepaid cards offer a practical solution, enabling Human Appeal to distribute funds to their aid workers instantly and eliminating the risk that comes with carrying cash.

Humanitarian causes are close to the heart of the B4B team, and they are pleased to be able to offer Human Appeal preferential commercial terms for a service that has become an essential part of its growing global operations.

Photo of Tim Robson & Edwina Wilkins, B4B Payments, with Asif Nazar & Misbah Shikdar (Head of Finance & Finance Manager) at Human Appeal’s Manchester HQ (2023).