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How often do you carry cash these days? Most of your donors don't either. Only 14% of point-of-sale transactions in Australia were paid in cash last year — down from 67% a decade ago — and that's projected to fall to 9% by 2030. If your charity still relies on a cash tin or a single hired terminal at your next fundraiser, you are quietly leaving donations on the table.
The traditional fix — hiring an EFTPOS machine — is slow, expensive and impractical when you need several volunteers collecting across a large event. There is a faster way. With a mobile donation platform like Pebl Collect, any volunteer with a smartphone can accept contactless donations in seconds by card tap, Apple Pay, QR code, payment link or PayID. No hardware, no setup cost, and funds settle straight into your charity's bank account.
The timing matters. From 1 October 2026 the Reserve Bank removes card surcharging across eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, and not-for-profits are not exempt. Charities reviewing their event fundraising setup before the deadline should be choosing tools that keep costs low without locking them into terminal hire. This guide walks through how to set up hardware-free donations for your next event, the methods available to your team, and how charities like Head Above Water have already used the approach.
Why traditional event donation methods fall short
Cash is now used less than electronic payments for every transaction size in Australia, including the small, spontaneous gifts that are the lifeblood of event fundraising. The donor pool is tightening too: research from F&P found the share of Australians who don't donate at all rose from 35% in 2021 to 42% in 2024. Against that backdrop — and with total donations and bequests sitting at $14.8 billion in the ACNC's Australian Charities Report — no charity can afford to lose a gift because the payment method was inconvenient.
Hired EFTPOS also carries real friction. Rental typically needs around 10 business days' lead time and a merchant ID from your bank before you can process a cent. Terminal fees stack on top of transaction fees, and if you need five or six machines to cover a large event the cost and logistics add up before you've raised a dollar. Then the machines need charging, connectivity, someone accountable for each unit, and a return shipment afterwards. For volunteer-run charities on tight budgets, that overhead eats into the very donations you're trying to collect.
A better way: turn every volunteer's phone into a donation terminal
Our Australian-owned app turns any compatible iPhone or Android into a contactless donation terminal — no extra hardware, no monthly rental, no lock-in contracts and no setup fees. Volunteers download the app, get added to your charity's team, and start accepting donations immediately, with funds settling into your nominated bank account.
Instead of positioning a handful of terminals at fixed stations, you can mobilise your whole team to collect anywhere across the event — roaming the crowd, on the registration desk, working the BBQ or greeting guests at a gala. Pebl has already helped charities run 250+ events and raise more than $10 million in donations, with clients including Ronald McDonald House Sydney, Epilepsy Action Australia and Head Above Water.
How to set up Pebl for your event in under 10 minutes
Getting your team ready is straightforward:
- Download and sign up. Grab the Pebl app, enter your charity's details (ABN, settlement bank account, a nominated administrator). It takes about five minutes.
- Add your volunteers. Invite team members from the dashboard. Pebl supports unlimited users, and role-based permissions mean volunteers can only take donations — not access bank details, issue refunds or change settings.
- Set up donation products. Create quick-select amounts ($10, $20, $50) for one-tap giving, allow custom amounts, or add products for merchandise, raffle tickets and registration.
- Prepare QR codes and links. Generate QR codes for signage, table cards and wristbands, and create shareable payment links for pre-event promotion.
- Brief your volunteers. On the day, they open the app, select an amount and hold the phone out for the donor to tap. The transaction clears in seconds and a digital receipt is sent automatically.
Three ways to collect donations at your event
Pebl's biggest advantage is flexibility. Offer donors more than one way to give and you maximise the chance that every willing supporter actually completes their gift.
- Charity Tap to Donate. The primary in-person method: the donor taps a contactless card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or watch, and the payment clears instantly. Works on iPhone XS or later (iOS 18+) and NFC-enabled Android (Android 13+).
- QR codes. Ideal for passive collection on posters, programs and table signage. Donors scan with their phone camera and pay in-browser — no app needed. Pebl's QR codes support cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayID.
- Payment links. Sent by email, SMS or social in the weeks before the event to capture early gifts from supporters who can't attend.
One accuracy note worth understanding: card taps, QR codes and payment links are all card-based transactions, so a processing fee still applies. PayID is different — it settles bank-to-bank on the New Payments Platform, outside the card networks, so it carries no card fee. With surcharging gone from 1 October, that distinction matters: for regular givers and larger gifts, steering donors to PayID keeps more of every dollar. Our guide to why PayID is the best donation method for Australian charities breaks down exactly what you keep, and cashless fundraising for Australian charities compares every method side by side.
Case study: Head Above Water's annual Swimathon
Head Above Water is a Northern Beaches charity building mental fitness and reducing suicide across Australia. Its flagship 24-hour Swimathon at Collaroy Rockpool has raised over $880,000 across six events. Volunteers stationed at the BBQ, registration desk and around the pool accepted Apple Pay and card-tap donations on their own phones — without a single EFTPOS terminal. It was fast, needed minimal training, and let a lean volunteer team maximise support.
Epilepsy Action Australia did the same at its Purple for Purpose Gala, displaying QR codes on table signage so guests could donate between courses. The event raised over 200% more than the previous year, admin costs dropped, and the charity kept more of what it raised.
Reviewing your options after Shout for Good?
If your organisation previously used Shout for Good (ANZ's charity payment platform), you're likely weighing your in-person fundraising options. Most charities want the same things: a simple mobile donation tool, Apple Pay and contactless support, no EFTPOS hardware, and tools built for events and volunteer teams. Pebl covers all of that, plus PayID for instant bank transfers — and every authorised volunteer can accept donations on their own phone. For a full comparison, see our Shout for Good alternative guide, and if you run giving across multiple sites, running donations across op shops, branches and events shows how to manage it from one account.
Frequently asked questions
What if volunteers don't want the app on their personal phone? Direct donors to printed QR codes instead — they scan and pay in their own browser, no app on either side. A few team leaders can handle Tap to Pay while the rest point donors to QR stations.
Is Pebl secure? Yes. Pebl is PCI DSS compliant with end-to-end encryption, and no card data is stored on the volunteer's device. Funds settle to your charity's Australian bank account, and role-based permissions restrict volunteers to accepting payments only.
What does Pebl cost? A flat 1.8% per card payment or $1.50 per PayID transaction — no setup fees, no monthly charges, no lock-in. See the Pebl pricing page for details.
Can we issue tax-deductible receipts? Pebl generates a digital receipt after every transaction with your charity's details; reflect your DGR status in your account settings for tax-deductible giving.
How quickly do funds settle? Card payments typically clear within 1–2 business days; PayID settles instantly.
Ready to simplify your next charity event?
The shift away from cash isn't slowing, and with surcharging ending on 1 October, the charities that come out ahead will be the ones that make giving effortless while keeping costs low. With Pebl, there's no EFTPOS to hire, no hardware to manage and no fixed terminals to queue at — every volunteer becomes a mobile donation station with Charity Tap to Donate, QR codes, payment links and PayID. Get started with Pebl Collect and be ready to collect donations at your next event in minutes — no hardware required.
