Making a political donation just got easier than ever.
Twitter announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with the mobile payment company Square to allow anyone in the U.S. to make a donation to a US political candidate through a tweet, beginning today.
“This is the fastest, easiest way to make an online donation, and the most effective way for campaigns to execute tailored digital fundraising, in real time, on the platform where Americans are already talking about the 2016 election and the issues they are passionate about,” said Jenna Golden, Twitter’s head of political advertising, in a blog post on the company’s website.
Twitter users will see tweets from participating campaigns that include an image and a “contribute” button which allows users to click to donate directly through that tweet without having to leave the Twitter mobile application.
Campaigns that want to participate and enable Twitter donations must sign up for a business account with Square Cash, and then they can generate a link to use in tweets to encourage donations from supporters.
Though candidates have long been using social networks to solicit political donations, in the past they have had to push people to visit their campaign websites to donate. By allowing people to now donate directly on Twitter without ever leaving the social platform, the new process eliminates an extra step for donors and makes it easier for candidates to raise funds via Twitter.
2016 presidential candidates wasted no time in setting up their Twitter fundraising efforts. Republican candidates Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal were already using Twitter donations on Tuesday morning shortly after the tool launched:
Just launched our @SquareCash account. Show Scott Walker some support going into the second debate by donating $2. http://t.co/wqU3twctQM
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) September 15, 2015Chip in $5 or more today and help us continue our #Momentum http://t.co/MkFWzzA0gN
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) September 15, 2015Ready for a candidate with the guts to take on Trump? Chip in $5 right now: https://t.co/Ej80NsIHfQ
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) September 15, 2015It’s debate week, and we just launched our @SquareCash account! Can you chip in $3 to show your support? https://t.co/WncKsbOKAd
— Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) September 15, 2015
Nisha Chittal