What's New in Payments

UK charities leverage open banking to cut donation transaction costs

Open Banking Excellence QR code payments transfer solution

UK residents can now make charity donations using an open banking payments service that allows them to transfer money directly from their bank account to a charity’s bank account by scanning a QR code with their mobile phone, reducing the recipient’s processing costs and automatically enabling Gift Aid tax benefits on each donation... More




What's New in Payments

Dublin churches pilot contactless collections

Offertory payers — church adopts contactless payments — RTE News — “The archdiocese has already introduced direct debit payments for the ‘family offering’, which was traditionally collected from houses in parish envelopes. Now a pilot scheme is to be introduced in a small number of parishes where card machines will be available at the back of the church for people to make contactless contributions. The archdiocese also plans to roll out card-based payments in the majority of parishes so people can pay for offerings and pilgrimages, as well as sign-up for recurring contributions.”


What's New in Payments

Church of England doubles donations with contactless collection plates

Church of England: Contactless collection payments trialled — BBC News — “Churches have reported a 97% increase in donations made at services trialling a digital collection box… Churchgoers picked a sum from four options decided by the Church, before using a card or smartphone to pay… Developers state the technology can support 500 transactions without the need for recharging, though a fixed table-top version of the system is also available — allowing congregations to donate before, during or after the service.”



What's New in Payments

Contactless donation points go live across London

Mayor doubles street outreach team to help rough sleepers — Mayor of London — “The Tap London points are small, secure payment points that enable Londoners to make £3 (US$3.82) donations by card. 35 donation points will launch today with more than 90 appearing across the capital this winter. Today the Mayor launched the scheme at City Hall, where one of the building’s windows now has a donation point. The other donation points are located in busy areas around the capital.”



What's New in Payments

National Trust builds contactless donation terminals into art works

Tap the past to preserve the future — National Trust for Scotland — “We’ve created beautiful replicas of a couple of the Trust’s most famous artefacts — to bring contactless to two of our historic locations. The replicas include a 200-year-old bust of Robert Burns at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Ayrshire, and a historical painting of Colonel William Gordon at Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire. Visitors can now simply tap their card on the artworks to make a £2 donation to the Trust and help preserve Scottish heritage for generations to come.”


What's New in Payments

Contactless collection boxes deliver five-fold increase in donations for London charity

Earnest Labs reveals results of contactless charity donation platform Tap for Change — The Drum — “Tap For Change has transformed our fundraising… It would take years to raise the same amount from people emptying their pockets of loose change, and it would require a logistical army to collect and bank those donations. The technology has also allowed us to successfully approach high street partners where customers don’t handle cash, such as travel agents and estate agents. Those partners would have previously been reluctant to host a coin collection box.”


What's New in Payments

Charity to roll out contactless donation screens following successful three week pilot

Contactless donations project raises thousands for homeless in Cardiff — Wales Online — “The interactive window in the city centre allows passers-by to tap their card on the screen and donate £2 (US$2.85) to homeless charities… A total of 430 kind-hearted shoppers in Cardiff swiped their contactless cards to give money to the homeless in just three weeks… Following its success during the trial in March the Give DIFFerently campaign now hopes to roll out more contactless points across the city.”


What's New in Payments

Alexa can now use Amazon Pay to make voice-based donations to charity

Alexa now lets you donate to nearly 50 nonprofits — Cnet — “Alexa allows you to make a donation between US$5 and US$5,000 and tells you it will share your name, address and email with the charity. It will ask repeatedly if you want to go through with the donation, but you can also set up a four-digit voice-shopping code to prevent accidental donations.”


What's New in Payments

Church of England rolls out contactless donations to 16,000 churches, cathedrals and religious sites

Church of England brings cashless transactions to its congregations — Church of England — “Over 16,000 churches, cathedrals, and religious sites will now have access to portable card readers through the Church of England’s Parish Buying portal through a partnership with SumUp and iZettle. The readers will be used to take contactless payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as chip & pin… Technology facilitating charitable donations on a self-service basis, including passing around a reader for the collection, continues to be trialled and is expected to be launched in phase two of the project.”


What's New in Payments

Acer adds donations and discounts to prayer beads

Buddhists go high-tech: Acer to launch smart prayer beads — EJ Insight — “The smart product looks just like traditional Buddhist prayer beads except that one of the beads has an embedded chip which can connect with the user’s smartphone and show the number of times a mantra is recited on the mobile app…. The smart Buddhist beads also come with fintech functions for electronic payments, facilitating donations and offering discounts at certain shops and restaurants in the Buddhist community.”


What's New in Payments

Thai temple takes donations via QR codes

Temple goes digital with QR payment for donations — Bangkok Post — “It is hoped use of the system will solve the headache caused by thefts of money from donation boxes and ensure transparency in the handling of donations through the use of e-banking… When a donation is made using QR code an alert is sent to temple monks and laymen via a mobile app.”