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Cash machines to allow charitable donations

The Government has announced plans to change more than 12,000 cash machines across the UK to allow charitable donations.

The changes will be first made to Royal Bank of Scotland and independent operator Bank Machine cash machines, with others to follow. Banks will select eight charities for customers to choose from when withdrawing cash. People using a debit card will then be able to choose to donate between £1 and £250.

HSBC already allows customers to make charitable donations through its cash machines. In 2010 £341,623 was donated through the banks 3,650 machines.

It is hoped that the scheme will encourage more people to give small amounts to charity.

The HSBC allows charities to claim gift aid as the bank can supply their details, but this will not be available under the new scheme, which is being rolled out through the Link network.

Commenting on the new scheme, Nick Hurd, minister for civil society said: “By making it possible to add donations at cash points we can make an even greater difference to other people’s lives.

The idea for the scheme was proposed at the end of 2010 and copied a scheme pioneering in Serviblanca in Colombia, which allows customers to make donations when they withdraw cash.

It was hoped that the scheme would help charitable giving to be a “social norm” and will encourage the public services to take on more volunteers.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .