memorygiving.com

What It Is

Memory Giving is a UK online in-memory donation platform operated by Purple Patch Management Limited. Originating in 2010 from experience in funeral services, it aims to replace traditional cash and cheque collections. The platform allows funeral providers or families to create memorial donation pages where donors can leave condolence messages, with collected funds later transferred to the designated charity or beneficiary organization. The site states that it has helped collect nearly £18 million in donations to date, with around £3 million in potential Gift Aid.

Core Features and Payments

Its service is highly vertical: it focuses on “in memory donation” use cases, offering donation page creation, search, messages, donation processing, charity selection, and Gift Aid claims. Disclosed payment methods are credit and debit cards, and it explicitly does not accept cash or cheques. Its coverage is primarily UK-focused: the terms mention selecting any UK charity or charitable beneficiary, and Gift Aid depends on HMRC rules. It should therefore not be understood as a general-purpose global fundraising payment gateway.

Pricing, Settlement, and Compliance

The fee structure is clear: a 5% platform fee is deducted from each donation, plus a card transaction fee usually around 0.9%. Registration and use are free for charities and funeral providers. Gift Aid is claimed from HMRC by the platform as an agent, with no fee deducted from the Gift Aid amount. For settlement, donation funds are transferred weekly to beneficiaries, while Gift Aid is processed monthly. Compliance information mainly includes UK company registration details, a privacy policy, and HMRC Gift Aid agent claims. Payment processing is outsourced to a third party, but the specific payment provider or licence details are not disclosed.

API and Integrations

Memory Giving provides a fairly comprehensive API: it can search and display fundraising pages, retrieve donations, create and update memorial pages, search for or suggest charities, and process donations. Access requires applying for an API Key and passing back-office approval. It supports SOAP 1.1/1.2, HTTP GET, and HTTP POST, and also provides a .NET sample project and API documentation. However, the technical approach is relatively traditional: the available text does not show modern SDKs, webhooks, REST conventions, or sandbox details. API v1 is scheduled to be deprecated in September 2026.

Pros, Cons, and Best Fit

Its strengths are a focused use case, transparent fees, friendliness toward funeral providers and charities, and the ability to handle UK Gift Aid. Its drawbacks include limited payment methods, insufficient disclosure around internationalization and risk controls, and a refund request window of only 24 hours. It is best suited to UK funeral service providers, charities, funeral software vendors, and families that want to create an in-memory donation page.

Access from China and Alternatives

The available text does not provide information on access from mainland China, Chinese language support, local payment methods, or cross-border acquiring, so its accessibility from China should be considered unknown. For Chinese users or global crowdfunding-style donations, alternatives such as JustGiving, MuchLoved, GoFundMe, Enthuse, and Givey may be worth comparing, with the final choice depending on local compliance requirements, payment methods, and charity qualification needs.