How to grow your payments app with charity shops and thrift stores
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
Charity shops and thrift stores sell donated clothes, books, toys and furniture, usually in lots of small sales and often run by volunteers. Larger items like sofas and wardrobes are reserved and collected or delivered later, and many shops also run pop-up sales and sell online. A payments app that is easy for any volunteer to use, sends a payment link to reserve furniture and takes tap payments at a pop-up can win these shops, and every shopper who pays sees your app.
Talk to charity shops and thrift stores
Ask local shop managers:
- How do shoppers pay today?
- How easy is the till for new volunteers?
- How do you take payment for furniture that's collected later?
- Do you run pop-up sales or sell online?
Keep it simple for volunteers
Volunteers change often. A payment screen anyone can learn in a minute means fewer mistakes and shorter queues.
Reserve furniture with a payment link
A payment link lets a shopper pay for a sofa or wardrobe before it's collected or delivered, so the item isn't held for someone who never comes back.
Grow through the second-hand world
Charity shops share customers with vintage dealers, market traders and car boot sales. One shop on your app can introduce the others.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
What about charities that collect donations?
The charities and community groups guide covers small charities, residents' groups and community projects collecting donations, fees and ticket money.
Charities →What about antique and vintage dealers?
The antique and vintage dealers guide covers one-off pieces sold from shops, centres, fairs and online, often reserved before collection.
Vintage dealers →Can I call it a bank?
In most countries "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, a wallet, an app or a platform. The accounts and payments behind a SendPay Business platform are powered by licensed partners.
Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers.
Digital bank app launch checklist →How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you pay. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.
Build my platform →Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.