Dutch bank ING says that a contactless charity donation box trial has proved a big hit, resulting in the value of average donations more than doubling that seen with old fashioned cash collection tins.
The three month pilot saw ING team up with 19 charities on the box, which has a touch screen where people can choose the organisation they wish to donate to, before picking one of a range of options for the amount to give and finally tapping their contactless device.
ING says that the system - co-developed with Whydonate in ING’s innovation lab ICEC - not only made donating quicker but helped boost the average contribution more than double, from EUR1.50 to EUR3.20.
ING says the idea was borne out of the realisation that fewer consumers today have cash on hand, citing recent studies by its inhouse Economics Bureau which show that 52% of consumers don’t usually keep physical notes in their house.
While the box has to be toughened up to make it capable of handling a fall, Whydonate says that the successful pilot is spurring plans to invest in 1000 of the devices, eventually bringing the technology to the rest of Europe.