Apple opens up Apple Pay donations to non-profit organizations

The initial group of supporters includes 19 organizations, such as the American Heart Association, Doctors Without Borders, Feeding America, the International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, and the World Wildlife Fund. Five more will be joining "soon," Apple said, namely the American Cancer Society, CARE, DonorsChoose.org, PBS, and the United Way.

Efforts appear to be concentrated on Web-based donations, even though some of the organizations have apps. Web transactions were introduced to Apple Pay in September, alongside iOS 10 and macOS Sierra.

It's unknown why Apple wasn't previously supporting non-profit donations, but the company typically claims a small fee from each Apple Pay transaction, which it would presumably want to waive for charities. The company is also likely vetting each entity, considering the risk posed by scam artists.

The full list of launch-day organizations includes:

• American Red Cross
• American Heart Association
• charity: water
• Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
• COPD Foundation
• Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA)
• Doctors without Borders
• Feeding America
• GlobalGiving
• International Rescue Committee
• (RED)
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Save the Children
• The Nature Conservancy
• The Water Project
• UNICEF
• WNET
• World Vision
• WWF (World Wildlife Fund)