Direct debit is used by 48 per cent of givers under 35 and 50 per cent of those over 55. Across every digital method the age differences are marginal.
The assumption that digital giving belongs to younger donors is not supported here. Among respondents who name at least one method of giving, direct debit is used by 48 per cent of under-35s, 52 per cent of 35 to 54s and 50 per cent of those aged 55 and over. One-off online gifts run at 40 per cent, 43 per cent and 45 per cent across the same bands.
App, QR code or payment-link giving is the newest method in the list and shows the same flatness, at 21 per cent, 27 per cent and 21 per cent. The collection at church remains the most named method overall at 61 per cent, and is if anything named slightly more often by the youngest group.
There is no method in this survey where the youngest and oldest bands differ by more than a few points.
For fundraising teams, the practical implication is that a digital route is not a way of reaching a younger donor specifically. It is the ordinary way this audience gives, at every age. Segmenting the channel by age is unlikely to be the useful cut. Segmenting by what the money is for may be.
The under-35 base here is 191 respondents, which supports a directional statement rather than a precise one. The report sets out the giving chapter in full, including how these figures sit alongside national research on household giving.
Source: European Christian Media Survey 2026