Church of England unveils plan to start to taking donations using contactless collection plates

Some churches in the U.K. will be abandoning the use of traditional collection baskets in favor of contactless card readers to collect donations from parishioners.

This coming August, about 40 churches will be collecting donations using electronic hand-held devices in hopes of encouraging younger people who no longer use cash to give to the Church.

The Church of England is planning to install handheld terminals on those churches to process payments up to the value of £30.

"We're aware that younger generations — and there are many people now who don't carry cash — want to give in different ways. Enabling them to give in a way that suits them is something we'd like to try," John Preston, national stewardship officer at the Church of England, told the Financial Times.

The trial will test the practicalities of using various methods, such as offering the card reader as an option along with the collection plate or installing a terminal at the back of the church as a "retiring collection."

According to Premier, the trial period will run during the harvest and Christmas periods, when churches typically experience a boost in attendance, to help ensure the maximum number of people involve.

The Church is hoping that the new method will boost collections from those who come to a wedding or christening who seldom attend services that they forget to bring cash for the collection plate.

Churches involved in the trial have not yet been selected, but it is expected that it will include a mixture of young and older congregations.

If the scheme is successful, it will be implemented on every diocese by next year. However, ancient churches with thick stone walls could pose a problem because they are poor locations for the signals required for the system to work. Additionally, some rural churches may not be able to take part in the scheme if they lie outside the zone of mobile coverage.

Some churches have been hesitant to use contactless systems for donations because they are put off by transaction fees or monthly terminal rental costs that eat into the gift income. The Church authorities are looking to use the institution's critical mass to bring the costs down.

"We need to ensure that we negotiate the best possible deal with a terminal provider," said Preston, noting that a transaction fee not exceeding two percent was being considered.