A cashless society could lead to over £5bn of lost charity donations

According to a recent report, a cashless society could lead to over £5bn less for charities, as currently over half (53%) of donations made with cash. 

Global Payment Trends reveals that cash payments are declining around the world, with eWallets, bank transfers, and credit cards becoming the most popular payment methods over the last year.

According to the research, a decline in cash could cost religious organisations £1bn, overseas aid £588m and children’s charities £481m each year.

This decline would have a detrimental impact on vulnerable members of society, including an estimated 5.2 million elderly households and 1.252 million people who struggle with digital payments due to poor physical or mental health.

A cashless society could also lead to a drop in charity funding, the report shows that cash has remained the most popular method for making donations over the past year, despite dropping from 55% in 2017 to 53% in 2018.

More than £10bn was given to charity in 2018, the average donation being £30.

These figures indicate that up to £5.353bn in cash contributions could be lost each year if the UK switched to solely digital payment methods.

Although some charities are implementing contactless technology to aid those affected by a decline in cash usage, a reported 59% of UK charities do not yet have a digital strategy in place to navigate a cashless society.

This means that crucial funding could be lost if Infrastructure isn’t in place to support vulnerable groups of society.

However, online payments do make it easier for some people to donate to charity via social media platforms, online donations increased by 17% in 2017 and stayed at that level over the past year.

In related news, the Give Leicester scheme allows people to make small contactless donations that will go directly to a local homelessness charity in the city.

Business Improvement District (BID) for Leicester and the Leicester City Council have worked together to launch the Give scheme by providing contactless donation points to various shops, cafes and public buildings across the city.

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