Apple has boosted its Apple Pay service by allowing the payment of donations to non-profit organizations. The service will be initially available in the United States. Both the web version of Apple Pay, as well as the app, will support the feature.

Apple Pay is collaborating with 19 organizations. Some prominent charities featured on the list are American Red Cross, UNICEF, the World Wildlife Foundation, and the American Red Cross. The list of organizations supported by Apple Pay is likely to be expanded soon to include DonorsChoose.org and the American Cancer Society.

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The new feature allows users to send donations without requiring the punching of billing and contact information. Earlier, Apple had instituted a ban on iOS apps from collecting charity funds using Apple Apple Pay. Now, the developers can integrate a "donate" button into their apps.

MacOS users will be able to use TouchID to confirm a donation. However, a TouchID function for this purpose is currently available only on the new MacBook Pro.

Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, said, "We're making it incredibly easy to give back with Apple Apple Pay."

The move has been welcomed by the charity organizations. Peter Chasse, president and founder of The Water Project said that the new feature removes the hassle of forms and offers a secure way to transfer funds.

Apple Pay is gaining a vast customer base at a fast rate. The service has already been integrated into a large number of iOS apps. It recently debuted on the web through Safari browser. In September, Apple Pay announced a nearly 500 percent increase in its traffic on a year-over-year basis.