Bstow Rebrands to Cheerful, Brings Mobile Payments to Charity

Charity and mobile payments have gotten along together nicely in the past. We’ve seen churches change up the collection plate, and beggars wear quick response (QR) codes around their necks in a bid to land a little of that digital largesse. Mobile apps have gotten in on the action too, and one of the latest moves from a mobile payments-driven charitable construct is from Bstow, who not only changed its name, but also shook up its C-suite as well.

Now, Bstow is known as Cheerful—likely a reference to the Bible’s 2 Corinthians 9 about the “cheerful giver”—and its new chief executive officer is Richie Kendall, formerly senior editor with Futuristic Films and also both founder and former chief executive of Bstow since 2017.

Users are able to put Cheerful to work in much the same way they could use Bstow, reports suggest, by allowing not only small dollar amounts but also by adding a small amount to purchases to round to the nearest dollar and send the excess to a charity. Cheerful works with several major charities, including Meals on Wheels, the YMCA, the Boys & Girls Clubs and various arms of Goodwill. Those interested in putting it to use can do so via Apple or Android platforms.

In a previous release, Kendall noted “Cheerful represents a pivotal shift in philanthropy that meets the demands of the next generation of changemakers. The web and mobile app tracks your philanthropic impact and provides a suite of all-in-one fundraising tools to nonprofits of every shape and size. Whether you’re rounding up the change on your purchases, making direct gifts to crowdfunding campaigns or multiplying your impact through celebrity giving, it’s all part of the new economy of world change.”

Once again, we see the impact of options when it comes to mobile payments. People like having choices, and here, the choice among making a donation outright, tacking a few cents onto every purchase to serve as a donation, or doing so with only certain purchases is plenty of options for the end user. People like options, and by providing them, Cheerful increases the chances that people will, in fact, give.

A charity app that encourages giving should prove welcome to its beneficiaries, and Cheerful certainly seems to do that.