
Bristol, UK – April 11, 2019 - NMI is proud to announce that our work with Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity in the UK, has been shortlisted for a prestigious Business Charity Award.
Last summer saw 67 individually and lovingly designed sculptures adorn the streets of Bristol. 17 of these sculptures were specially designed with NMI powered contactless donation points enabling ‘Gromit Unleashed 2’ fans to donate directly to The Grand Appeal using contactless cards and mobile devices. The use of these contactless payment devices increased donations to the charity substantially. Now, this innovative use of technology has been recognised in the ‘Telecoms and Technology’ category in the Business Charity Awards alongside other nominees Deliveroo and Talktalk.
"Utilising contactless technology to maximise donations has not only set a new precedent for sculpture trails across the globe but most importantly, has supported the thousands of young patients that are treated at Bristol Children’s Hospital every year" — Helen Haskell, Corporate Partnerships Manager at The Grand Appeal

Helen Haskell, Corporate Partnerships Manager at The Grand Appeal said “We’re delighted to have been shortlisted at the Business Charity Awards! Utilising contactless technology with the help of our fantastic partner, NMI, to maximise donations has not only set a new precedent for sculpture trails across the globe but most importantly, has supported the thousands of young patients that are treated at Bristol Children’s Hospital every year”
As well as creating bespoke donation points, NMI completed the technical back-end integration, testing, and certification processes required to enable EMV contactless ‘tap and donate’ payment acceptance including physical credit and debit cards as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Thanks to NMI and with support from Payter, the contactless payment device manufacturer, these donation points during Gromit Unleashed 2 resulted in an 309% increase in unsolicited donations in comparison to The Grand Appeal’s previous arts trail, ’Shaun in the City’ in 2015.
In total, the technology enabled over 9,000 donations amounting to around £45,000/$58,000 for The Grand Appeal and put Bristol Children’s Hospital firmly at the forefront of the trail, highlighting the charity’s incredible work to the legions of Gromit Unleashed 2 fans from around the world.
The awards ceremony is due to take place on May 22 at London’s glamourous London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square.
About NMI
NMI is driving transformation in the payment industry through the power of unified commerce enablement. By unifying every point of payment engagement to deliver one view of the customer, NMI is enabling thousands of ISOs, fintech innovators and ISVs to finally break free from today’s payment crunch and unleash new sources of value to achieve disruptive results. Processing more than $180 billion in payments a year, NMI is the driving force behind more than 3,200 technology partners and 260,000 merchants across retail, transportation, hospitality, medical, non-profit, parking, and vending verticals who are shifting to a new unified commerce strategy to put their business first, gain new value and deliver a superior merchant and consumer experiences.
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About Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal
The Grand Appeal is proud to be the dedicated Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity, providing 360-degree support for the hospital for over 20 years.
From the moment a child arrives at the hospital, our support workers offer comfort and advice; we give parents and siblings a free, comforting place to stay; provide daily music therapy sessions and arts and play activities; and fund the pioneering equipment and research that save lives. We’re a multi-award winning organisation, providing a wide range of support to patients, families and staff.
We work on a local, regional and national level to raise money and engage with a range of fundraisers and partners in support of our cause and to build our brand. But that’s not all - we do more than you think, working across the fundraising, retail, commercial, and operations and services industries. We also run the most successful charity arts trails in the world through Gromit Unleashed, engaging fans in Bristol, the UK, and around the world with truly innovative fundraising events. Whether we are delivering life-changing projects or creating new fundraising concepts, we are constantly developing creative ways to raise more money to help more children.
Bristol Children’s Hospital covers the largest geographic area of any children’s hospital in England, treating more than 100,000 children each year, and serves as the paediatric intensive care centre for the whole South West region. The hospital is an international, national and regional specialist centre of excellence for a range of services including neurosurgery, burns, epilepsy, cardiac, leukaemia and bone marrow transplants.
For more information, visit www.grandappeal.org.uk