FaceDonate
| Social enterprise | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Charity, Fintech, Social entrepreneurship |
| Founded 📆 | 2020 |
| Founders 👔 | Alberto De Biasio, Alexandr Kulakov |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | Digital donation platform |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | facedonate |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
FaceDonate is a British social enterprise and digital donation platform founded in 2020. It was co-founded by Alberto De Biasio and Alexandr Kulakov.[1] The platform enables charities to collect and distribute funds to people in need, while allowing individuals and businesses to fundraise and track how their donations are spent.[2]
Overview
FaceDonate describes itself as a "Social Good Network", providing donors with end-to-end transparency on the use and impact of their donations.[3] The platform aims to reduce the cost-to-value ratio of charitable giving and enable direct peer-to-peer donations between donors and people in need, with a focus on transparency, security, and anonymity.[1]
Technology
FaceDonate uses facial recognition technology. Recipients access funds by scanning their face through a mobile application, which generates a QR code redeemable at participating retailers.[2] Co-founder Alberto De Biasio has stated that no user data — including addresses, photographs, or names — is stored on the company's servers, and that accounts are deleted upon request.[4]
Partnerships and impact
FaceDonate partnered with Hackney Foodbank, part of the Trussell Trust network, to trial its facial recognition payment system in east London.[4] In the year following the partnership, the platform channelled more than £65,000 to disadvantaged north-east Londoners.[2] Participating retailers have included Nisa Retail (Co-op), Asda, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Hoxton Brothers Food, and Iceland Foods.[3]
Recognition
FaceDonate was named by TechRound as one of its top "Tech for Good" companies.[5][not in citation given] The platform received coverage from the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2023 in relation to its work addressing food bank access and charitable transparency during a period of record inflation in the United Kingdom.[2]
Criticism
The use of facial recognition technology in charitable settings has drawn attention from digital rights organisations. Access Now has noted that charities deploying biometric systems should carefully assess their long-term impact on vulnerable people, and that recipients should have clear information about how their biometric data is used.[6] Digital rights groups have more broadly highlighted the importance of robust data protection standards in platforms handling biometric information, including safeguards against data leaks and identity theft.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "FACE DONATE – Crunchbase Company Profile". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lin Taylor (2023-05-05). "UK food bank users swap face scans for free food". Thomson Reuters Foundation. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "FACE DONATE". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Biometrics: UK food bank users swap face scans for free food". Sight Magazine. 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ "Top Tech for Good Companies". TechRound. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
- ↑ "Facial recognition technology helps feed hundreds of struggling Britons". Eastern Eye. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
External links
Category:Social enterprises
Category:Charities based in London
Category:Financial technology companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Companies established in 2020
Category:Facial recognition
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