Contactless charity boxes are set to be widely introduced after a successful trial of the technology drew donations from members of the public who travel without cash.
Organisations including Oxfam and the NSPCC have trialled boxes fitted with the wireless receivers in recent months, meaning the old excuse of "sorry, no change" is no longer an option.
It comes in response to fears about the rise of the cashless society cutting off a lifeline for charities. Cash payments are declining rapidly in Britain thanks to contactless technology, which allows shoppers to quickly pay for a coffee or sandwich simply by tapping their card up to a limit of £30.
According to Barclaycard, which developed the hi-tech donation boxes, contactless spending grew by 166 per cent last year and more than half of adults now make a transaction with a contactless card at least once a month.
Eleven charities including Oxfam, the NSPCC, Barnados and the Royal British Legion began a four-month trial in September using 100 of the boxes. While they are shaped like traditional charity boxes to accept coins and notes, they are also fitted with contactless readers as well as featuring Chip & Pin terminals for higher-value payments.
The results of the trial showed that donors who pay using contactless credit cards tend to give three times as much as the average cash donor.
The contactless points were pre-set to a £2 donation if people tapped their credit cards on them, although charities could connect to the boxes with a smartphone app if givers wanted to give more or less using their cards.
The NSPCC said the average card donation during the trial had been £3.07, more than three times the £1 that punters give using cash on average.
Barclaycard said it was looking at bringing the contactless boxes into more widespread use after two charities asked to extend the trial.
According to YouGov research commissioned by the company, one in seven people have admitted to walking away from a donation because they did not carry cash on them. Barclaycard said the technology could earn charities an extra £80m a year.
Notes and coins still account for the majority of charitable donations, which may be under threat from the rise of cards. According the the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), charitable donations in the UK fell by £500 million in 2015.
However, cash now accounts for less than half of all transactions in the UK and is expected to fall to a quarter by 2025 amid the rise of mobile payments and contactless cards, as well as a decline in bank branches and cash machines.
ATM providers and banks met for crisis talks last week to resolve a stand-off over the fees paid by banks which threatens the future of almost half of machines in some areas, but the group failed to reach a resolution.
Chris Allwood of the CAF said: “People in the UK donate around £10 billion to charity every year. However, a rapidly growing number of them can no longer make donations on the street when they feel inspired to do so because they have stopped carrying cash. This makes it vital that charities are able to accept payment by debit and credit card.”
Megan Johnston, a fundraiser at the NSPCC, said: “Previously, many people have said they would like to donate even though they no longer carry cash, so it was great to offer a cashless giving alternative.”
0 comments: