Charities expected to receive £500,000 boost thanks to Virgin Money current account switchers with new Brighter Money Bundle

• Virgin Money expects to donate £500,000 to charities through its latest switching offer
• The new Brighter Money Bundle includes a £50 donation to any charity registered with Virgin Money Giving, plus customers will receive a luxury case of wine from Virgin Wines
• While charity donations have fallen significantly during the pandemic, new research shows one in three people plan to donate more to charities in the coming year

Virgin Money has created a current account switching incentive that will help bring struggling charities and customers together.

Switchers to the Virgin Money Current Account will have the chance to make a £50 donation, funded by Virgin Money, to any one of the 13,000+ charities registered with Virgin Money Giving, the UK’s largest not-for-profit fundraising platform. The initiative is expected to raise £500,000 for the sector and customers can choose to support a range of good causes, from larger household name charities to thousands of smaller organisations.

Jo Barnett, Executive Director of Virgin Money Giving, said: "2020 was an incredibly difficult year for charities. We know they need more help and at Virgin Money we want to do what we can to support our third sector and give our charities a much-needed boost. By bringing together Virgin Money and Virgin Money Giving, we’re helping new customers make a free donation to charity at what is a really difficult time for the sector. It couldn’t be easier and there are thousands of good causes on Virgin Money Giving to choose from."

It is predicted that charities will have lost at least £10bn in income in the 12 months following the start of the pandemic¹. Donations fell due to range of factors, including mass participation and charity own events either being postponed or transformed into virtual events as well as charity shop closures during lockdowns and shielding volunteers.

However, new research² from Virgin Money Giving shows that the outlook may be brighter for charity donations. One in three (34%) said they plan to support charities more over the next 12 months than they have during the last year, with less than one in ten (9%) planning to reduce their support, despite the pressures of the current economic environment. Over half (51%) of those planning to support charities more said it is because there will be more people in need due to the pandemic, while 30% think they will be in a better financial position to help.

Jo added: "It's promising that our research shows people intend to help more over the next year, and the new switching offer from Virgin Money is a great way to kick-start charity support. Knowing they have helped make a difference to a charity close to their heart during what is an extraordinarily challenging time will give switchers a lift too."

Fergus Murphy, Group Personal Director at Virgin Money, said: "Everyone wants something to feel good about right now, so we think we've created the perfect reward. By giving people £50 to donate to a charity of their choice, while also sending them a case of wine, we're helping customers reward themselves and a cause close to their heart."

A £50 donation could go to:

• Help run Macmillan's online community for over two hours, helping 22 people affected by cancer to connect with each other and gain much needed support.
• Keep Samaritans' phone lines open for 5 minutes, providing crucial help to people in crisis.
• Help to pay for Age UK's regular befriending calls to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.
• Provide more St John Ambulance and first aid crews across the country.
• Help Mind campaign for better mental health services from the Government.
• Pay for a NSPCC Childline supervisor for two hours, supporting their volunteer counsellors.
• Help Marcus Rashford’s food poverty charity Fareshare, helping deliver enough food for 500 meals.
• Pay for five urgent calls to the Shelter helpline, supporting those under immediate threat of homelessness.

Customers switching to a new Virgin Money Current Account, which is rated 'Outstanding' by Moneyfacts, can receive a free luxury case of 12 bottles of wine from Virgin Wines worth £138. A choice of alcoholic and non-alcoholic options are available to choose from. Existing customers can access an offer for a discounted case of Virgin Wines through the ‘Exclusive Rewards' area of the Virgin Money app.

Further information on the Virgin Money Current Account is available at https://uk.virginmoney.com/current-accounts/pca/

A full list of charities registered with Virgin Money Giving charity is available at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/fundraisers/#charity-search

Media contacts

Virgin Money Press Office: 0800 066 5998 / press.office@virginmoneyukplc.com

Notes to Editors

The Virgin Money Giving donation and Virgin Wines offer is available to all new Virgin Money Current Account customers who apply online and complete a full switch using the Current Account Switching Service, including two direct debits set-up on the account, downloading and registering for the mobile app and who deposit at least £1,000 into a linked savings account within 31 days of the account opening.

The £500,000 donation figure is based on anticipated volumes of eligible switchers using historical data from recent switching activity.

The new Brighter Money Bundle replaces the previous switching incentive, which was withdrawn at midnight on 14 February 2021.

The Virgin Money Current Account offers customers:

• Interest of 2.02% AER (2.00% gross per annum variable) on balances up to £1,000;
• Linked easy-access savings account;
• No monthly fees;
• Fee-free overseas debit card transactions;
• Budgeting and savings tools, enabling customers to set spending budgets and targets and organise their savings into specific pots;
• Live spending data, notifications and alerts, with tagging features helping customers easily identify and control spending across different categories, as well as customisable balance and transaction alerts;
• A money-saving energy switching tool in partnership with GoCompare;
• A smart 'sweep' feature - automatically transferring money from customers' savings accounts when running low, to help avoid fees and charges;
• A wide range of customer service options so customers can look after their money wherever, whenever and however they want - offering both Live Chat and Secure Messages in-app as well as online, a dedicated 24 hour customer service line and a full in-store service;
• Apple Pay & Google Pay enabled contactless 'portrait' debit card, which includes a useful notch to help visually impaired customers identify the top of the card;
• Ability to pay in cheques electronically and report debit cards lost or stolen through the app;
• Enhanced security features, including personalised in-app authorisation and secure messaging, alongside Touch ID and Face ID on supported customer devices;
• An arranged overdraft with a market leading 19.9% APR (subject to status).

¹Charity Finance Group, January 2021 https://www.cfg.org.uk/charity_sector_calls_for_emergency_support_package

²Surveys conducted by Censuswide: 1,002 nationally representative respondents in the UK, survey conducted 25 to 27 January 2021

About Virgin Money

Virgin Money is a full-service digital bank, serving 6.5m customers across the UK. It offers market-leading products and services to meet the full range of customers' retail and business banking needs. Virgin Money aims to provide a consistently world-class experience for customers through its leading technology platform, telephone banking and a national network of innovative stores and business banking centres. By making banking better, Virgin Money seeks to deliver on its purpose of 'Making you happier about money'.

About Virgin Money Giving

Virgin Money Giving is the UK’s largest not-for-profit online fundraising website from Virgin Money and was established in 2009. In October 2019, Virgin Money Giving turned ten and since launch has helped over 14,000 UK charities and one million fundraisers raise over £800 million to support their work in the UK and overseas.

Virgin Money Giving has never made a profit, meaning as much money as possible goes to good causes, while maintaining a safe, secure, user-friendly and reliable service.

Virgin Money Giving provides charities with tools such as fundraising and 'in memory' pages, campaign and appeal pages, donate buttons, event creation, regular giving, custom solutions with APIs, and reporting and data management.

Virgin Money Giving collects gift aid for free for charities and provides them with a dedicated help desk, training and advice, marketing consent collection and the option for donors to cover their fees. There are no monthly fees for charities.

Fundraisers can personalise their fundraising pages, send out email alerts and manage their fundraising events. They can include their own content, photos and links to their page as well as customise messages for their supporters and link their page to social networking sites. Virgin Money Giving provides fundraising ideas and tips, offering help and advice on how to raise more for charity. In addition to supporting individual fundraisers, Virgin Money Giving also supports Appeals, Corporate and In Memory fundraising.

Virgin Money Giving is the official fundraising partner of events that include the Virgin Money London Marathon, Swim Serpentine, Prudential RideLondon and the Royal Parks Half Marathon.