Digital conversion: Church of England rolls out cashless donations

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Well, it’s been obvious that this has been coming. We have congregations here in the Diocese of Rhode Island that already offer this option. It’s been warmly received here particularly at festival events with many visitors attending like a Solemn Evensong or Christmas Eve.

Churchgoers will no longer have to fumble in their pockets and purses for loose change or notes as the Church of England introduces contactless payment terminals in more than 16,000 churches, cathedrals and other religious sites.

Contactless payments have been on trial in 40 Anglican churches since last summer, and from Tuesday they will be extended to all dioceses with the aim of making donations easier and faster. Congregations will also be able to donate via text message.

The C of E takes about £580m a year in donations, although most are from standing orders and fees rather than cash given in church. It began looking at cashless payment due to the declining numbers of people carrying cash.

via Digital conversion: Church of England rolls out cashless donations | World news | The Guardian

I’m impressed that the national church stewardship office in England took ownership and set this up for all the churches. I don’t know if that’s something we can do in the Episcopal Church, but I’ll be asking around to see if it’s something we can consider soon.

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