Today in FinTech Ukraine Daily: Uber Launches In-App Button for Ukraine Donations; Google Offers to Help Organizations Providing Humanitarian Assistance to Ukraine

Uber plans to launch an in-app donation button to allow U.S. customers to make donations to the International Rescue Committee to assist Ukraine. Plans are in the works to make in-app donation features available to Uber users in more countries in the coming days, the ride-sharing company announced.

Uber said it will match donations made through this feature up to $1 million. The company said it will also make an additional $500,000 donation to the International Federation of Red Cross and World Food Program USA in support of the U.N. World Food Program’s humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and nearby countries.

Google has offered to help organizations involved in providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine including medical supplies, food relief, refugee support and aid. The tech giant has extended free services through Google Cloud credits to eligible organizations.

In addition, to help people communicate with friends and family at this urgent time, Google said it will waive international calling fees from Ukraine and from the U.S. to Ukraine on Google Fi. They are also waiving calling fees to Ukraine for people using Google Voice for the time being.

EvoShare, the Silicon Valley FinTech company founded by Ukrainians, is developing a feature for customers to donate some of their cash-back points to support Ukrainian humanitarian efforts, the company announced Tuesday (March 8).

PayPal launched a consumer-focused giving campaign to help Ukraine. Customers have donated more than $3 million to international relief charities providing humanitarian aid within Ukraine and refugee support.

These relief organizations include the International Rescue Committee (IRC), U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Direct Relief, Save the Children and many others working on the ground in Ukraine and with refugees in surrounding nations.

For leaders of Upswot, the North Carolina software maker that helps banks build loyalty and grow engagement among their small- and medium-sized businesses, Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine is personal.

“We are Ukrainians,” said Dmitry Norenko, Upswot’s CEO. “This is our country. These are tough times for us.”

Brightwell Payments, a FinTech company that helps workers get paid, and send and spend money safely and easily worldwide, announced Tuesday that it will provide on-demand transfers free for Ukrainian crew members by the end of the month.