Our response to COVID-19

We’re all coming to terms with the new normal, whether it’s adapting to quarantine, dealing with social distancing, or even communicating remotely with family and friends. We wanted to provide a brief update on a few steps we’ve been taking; from doing our bit during the crisis, to making sure that every part of Adyen is functioning as before.

In recent weeks we’ve seen resourceful businesses taking a proactive approach to the crisis we’re facing. Ace & Tate are one such example, donating safety goggles to frontline medical workers and volunteers. They’ve committed to donating 15,000 pairs and are also encouraging their customers to pledge and donate goggles directly for €3 each. Gap has taken a similar approach, creating critical materials for medical staff, such as protective masks and gowns. Crocs have even utilized our Pay by Link solution to add an option on their website to buy a pair of Crocs on behalf of a healthcare worker. A donation box is highlighted on the checkout page, allowing shoppers to contribute by sending one (or several) pairs of shoes.

These initiatives are creating a positive impact and are evidence of an inspiring level of willingness and adaptability within these businesses.

We feel it’s only right that we take our own very specific expertise, and use it to support those affected by COVID-19. And while we can’t offer a solution to the crisis, we are using our technology to support those affected.

We’ve connected with the United Nations Foundation to route collected donations via Adyen Giving to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization. This fund is powered by the United Nations Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation and proceeds will help fund the WHO’s efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to this pandemic.

The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund has been a lesson in what people can achieve in the face of a crisis. In just five weeks, the Fund has been able to raise over $200 million through the generosity of individuals and organizations around the world.

We see three key reasons why this can be a highly useful way of generating funds through Adyen Giving:

We want to encourage businesses to implement our donation functionality, Adyen Giving. It’s built into our Checkout and POS integrations and can be easily added. The Adyen Giving transaction is free - we take on all costs of the donation transaction.

To give you an example of how it works, we've outlined the online flow below:

We also wanted to use this blog to acknowledge our team. As a company, we’re spread out across five continents including some of the worst affected areas, and it goes without saying that our people are a priority. For a while now we’ve been working from home to protect each other, our families and our communities. It’s given us time to reflect and consider our place as a business in wider society.

Different situations call for different measures. As we’ve seen, there are nuances in each country’s approach to the concept of quarantine, so we keep up to date with local authorities and let that guide our way of working.

Paradoxically, being apart is bringing us closer together.

Our team is fully equipped to work from home and the crisis will have no impact on the levels of support we provide. We use our ‘follow the sun’ mantra, to make sure we continue helping our merchants across time zones.

If you take anything from this blog, please take our best wishes. We believe that by staying home, and by following the guidelines of the WHO and local authorities, we can all contribute to flattening the curve and getting through this together.

Stay healthy, and please remember that we’re still working as usual to support our merchants.