Church of England partner with Visa to enable contactless donations at 300 churches

24/02/2020

The Church of England has embarked on a new partnership with Visa, SumUp and Caution Your Blast to enable 300 more churches across the UK to accept contactless donations. With more consumers choosing to make payments with card, mobile and contactless enabled devices, the partnership will offer more options for churchgoers wanting to donate.

Church of England and Church in Wales churches applied to receive one of the 300 free contactless card readers, supported by Visa, which were distributed last October, evenly across England and Wales, making sure the card readers can benefit a wide range of communities. Parishes are now starting to see the benefits.

Contactless Giving

The Reverend Erica Wooff, Vicar of Stockwell in the Diocese of Southwark, pictured above with one of the contactless card readers, said: "This contactless device is a real benefit to us as a parish, particularly with visitors to our concerts, fundraising events and baptisms who don’t carry cash.  The device is also enabling our regular congregations to think of stewardship and financial support in new and substantial ways."

Andrew Dotchin, priest in the diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is vicar of a parish benefiting from a contactless card reader. He explained that he has seen an increase in donations, especially from occasional offices such as baptisms, funerals and weddings. The contactless card reader is also used to accept donations for the postcards that are on sale at the back of the church, as well as refreshments such as the coffee the church serves after services.

The Reverend Sue Cooke rejoices as a member of her local congregation, Clarice, uses their Visa contactless card reader for the first time.

The project was coordinated by the Parish Buying Team who work to gain better contract prices for parishes.

Jonathan de Bernhardt Wood, National Advisor for Giving and Income Generation, said: “Many people do want to give to their local church, but increasingly they do not carry cash, so providing a contactless card reader enables them to give in a way they find convenient and easy. This is particularly true for people who may only come to church for weddings, baptisms or funerals. It’s important we enable people to give in the way they wish to give, and we’re really grateful for all the support we receive.”

Dana Haidan, Europe Lead, Social Impact, Visa said: “We are proud to support the Church of England to enable contactless donations in churches across England and Wales. Incorporating contactless acceptance is just one of the many ways technology can help non-profit organisations like the Church of England fundraise.”

The contactless card readers will remain as permanent fixtures in the churches, continuing to help raise funds that support their communities. This was a limited edition project and the solutions are not available to purchase.

Further information:

Key contributors

The card readers were supplied by SumUp, the donations app was developed by Caution Your Blast, and the stand was designed and manufactured by Forme Studio (Payaz).

 

Parish Buying: Who we are

We are a buying service set up by the Church, for the Church. Our contracts and discounts are available to all parishes, cathedrals and dioceses in the Church of England and the Church in Wales.

 

Parish Buying: What we do

Through the bulk buying power of the Church we negotiate competitive prices with suppliers across a range of different contracts. All of our suppliers undergo a careful selection process, and the contracts have been professionally reviewed, so you can purchase safe in the knowledge that there will be no catches or hidden surprises. We manage the contracts too, and provide guaranteed ongoing support from our dedicated customer service team.

Find out more: https://vimeo.com/247316708

 

Visa’s Digital Donations Program

Visa has been working with a variety of organisations in the third sector to drive innovation in charity campaigning and fundraising. As an organisation that helps accelerate digital payments adoption within the payment ecosystem, Visa recognise the need to support charities by enabling digital payments and allow donors to donate in convenient ways.

Find out more: https://www.visa.co.uk/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2019/05/10/driving-digital-donations-1557494052889.html