KEEP OUR CASH CAMPAIGN
IT’S lunchtime on a drizzly wet Wednesday. I wander into the beautiful St Mary Abbots Church in London’s Kensington for a little divine inspiration and relief from the incessant rain. A building that exudes calmness, kindness and serenity.
There’s a ‘Eucharists of Healing’ service scheduled for early afternoon and I’m tempted to stay and think about those close to me who are struggling to shake off life’s slings and arrows – a 91-year-old aunt recovering from a nasty fall and a nephew struggling to come to terms with the death of his caring and deeply religious mother. But deadlines press.
Outside, the children of the adjoining school are noisily enjoying their lunch break. All rather endearing. Life enhancing.
As I look for a pew to sit down in and contemplate for a moment or two, my eye is immediately drawn to a device atop a plinth, emitting a blue light. More 21st Century high tech than anything else inside the church’s peaceful walls. It’s a contactless card reader with a simple but compelling message: ‘Please support our beautiful church.’
In less time than it takes to say the first 20 words of the Lord’s Prayer, I’ve waved my Visa debit card across it and made a donation to this glorious church on my doorstep. Immediately, I feel a little more righteous, refreshed and ready to face the challenges of the afternoon.
St Mary Abbots was the first church in the country to embrace new payment technology in March last year. This was in response to a 50 per cent decline in cash donations over five years.
Now churches up and down the country are increasingly turning towards contactless card payments – and other forms of non-cash based donations – to stop their income falling off a proverbial cliff.
It’s a direct consequence of congregations – and church visitors – carrying less cash, resulting in dwindling plate collections at services. A shortage of cash triggered by restricted accessibility to it – stemming from a shrinking free-touse ATM network and the rampant closure of bank branches – and the rise of contactless payment.
To survive, churches have no choice but to adapt to the modern world, even if for some it cuts across religious ideals. Sink or swim. It’s the same with art galleries, museums and even enterprising buskers using the same payment card readers to boost donations from visitors.
Earlier this year, a report on the country’s access to cash, compiled by Natalie Ceeney (former head of