Contactless payments now account for around one third of all debit card transactions, and in terms of value, debit card payments in the UK (£13.4 billion) now exceed cash payments (£13.3 billion).

There has also been a noticeable decline in the use of cash over many years. In 2006, 62% of all payments in the UK were made in cash, and by 2016 that proportion had fallen to 40%. It has been predicted that by 2026, cash will be used for just 21% of all payments.

Standing orders are still the best way for planned givers to make donations to church, but with the move away from cash towards contactless, have you considered how your church will engage with visitors and guests?

There is a variety of contactless donation devices to suit your church context. When choosing what might be the best choice for you, ask the following questions:

• Do we have a lot of visitors? Do we have any life-event services? If not, then the best option might be to encourage regular giving from your congregation, especially by standing order.
• Does your church have access to a wifi or mobile signal? Some devices only take donations online.
• Some devices operate via a SIM card. Is the device compatible to your signal, i.e. do you get 3G or 4G? Check that you can get the signal inside your building.
• If you have a weak signal, you might be able to buy devices that will boost it. This is not always cost effective, so check it out before committing.
• Some devices work offline, but they need to be removed regularly so that they can get access to wifi or mobile so that they can upload donations. Do you have someone who will do this regularly for you?

If you decide that your church would benefit from the use of a contactless donation device, please ensure you purchase it through the Parish Buying website, as the National Church have negotiated much cheaper charges for Anglican Churches.If you aren’t already registered, you should do so now to access the benefits. Please click here.

There are good deals on other church buying requirements too!

Click here or on the image below to view a matrix which might help you to decide which device could be best for you:

The devices come with the ability to download reports, whilst some will be sent automatically.

Some devices use Give a Little’s donation software, and this allows you to use web donations too. This means that you can have donations made through your website and you can have a Donation Button on your A Church Near You page.

You can also generate QR codes and print them on any church literature, enabling donations to be made at a later time.

If your church has no wifi but can get a weak mobile signal you can get low-cost SIM cards and routers from Daisy which might be the answer to your problems.

SIM cards are available from £5 per month and routers from £60. More details on Daisy and its offers can be found on Parish Buying. Click here.

For more information, please take a look at the contactless giving section of the Parish Buying website. 

Also feel free to contact Stewardship Enabler, John Thompson, on 01768 807777 or on 07979 360550 or email john.thompson@carlislediocese.org.uk for advice or an informal conversation.

In the first of three films we hear from different churches as to how they made the most of promoting their contactless giving unit.

Here, the Rev Canon David Sargent explains what best practice was introduced at St Andrew's Penrith.