(Omaha, NE) -- As the holiday season approaches, the Salvation Army is gearing up for holiday giving.
On Friday, November 12th, the Salvation Army will roll out their red kettles at more than 130 sites across the Omaha metro. New this year, the kettles will start accepting PayPal and Venmo, as an extension of its "Kettle Pay" system. The two payment platforms join the pre-existing Apple Pay and Google Pay options from previous years. The Salvation Army says Kettle Pay is made possible by placing smart chips and QR codes on red kettle signs, which allow shoppers to simply “bump” or scan their phones in order to make digital donations.
The Salvation Army says here’s how Kettle Pay works: As shoppers use their smartphones to access Kettle Pay, they will be directed to a custom web page that accepts Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, or PayPal payment options as a means of making a donation to The Salvation Army. Donations stay local. An email receipt will be sent directly to users’ phones.
Here in the metro, the roll-out of the kettles coincides with the start of the 2021 Tree of Lights Campaign, which is the Omaha-based Salvation Army Western Division’s largest local fundraising campaign of the year. The Campaign officially starts with the Tree of Lights Kickoff on Friday, November 12th.