Let us pay! Church brings in contactless collection plate
If you’ve ever felt embarrassed at having all eyes on you as the Church collection plate comes your way, your problems will soon be over.
for churchgoers will soon be able to donate contactlessly via their bank card or mobile phone, the Church of England announced yesterday.
Collection plates and bags are to be replaced by ‘tap and go’ electronic readers that can be passed around the pews.
All 16,000 CofE churches will be able to use the devices, which have already been trialled in some parishes since last summer.
Electronic payments will offer ‘faster and easier’ transactions for congregations fed up with delays as worshippers scrabble for cash, said Church officials. The system will also allow vicars to charge for events like fetes, weddings and christenings without handling cash or cheques. It follows a decade in which donations during services have stagnated, with collections in 2015 raising less than in 2007, despite pleas from Church leaders for the faithful to double the amount they donate.
There are hopes that churchgoers using cards or mobiles may prove to be more generous. The system, which will see a small transaction fee for each donation paid to the firms supplying the technology, is already in use in the US and Scandinavia.
The Church’s national stewardship and resources officer John Preston said: ‘There is a clear need for our parishes to introduce card and contactless facilities and we are excited to make this available.
‘How we pay for things is changing fast, especially for younger churchgoers who no longer carry cash, and we want all generations to be able to make the most of their place of worship.’