Barbican Art Gallery and Mary’s Meals launch contactless donations
Melanie May | 13 May 2016 | News
Two more charities have announced that they are using contactless donation points. The Barbican Art Gallery and Mary’s Meals both stated that they would be using the technology to raise funds this month.
The Barbican is to install a contactless donation point at the entrance to its Curve Gallery that will enable visitors to donate £2 with a swipe of their phone or contactless card, while Mary’s Meals is putting the boxes in a number of cafes and asking people to give a 30 pence donation: enough, it says, to provide five meals to children in their place of education.
Earnest Labs has created the bespoke contactless payment terminal, called Lunchbox, which launched on Tuesday May 3 through partner vendors Reynolds, ICCO, Mortimers Cafe in London and Lynwood Cafe, Oxfordshire.
Read about the innovative businesses helping raise funds and smiles with @marysmeals! https://t.co/wsyY3s7mNL pic.twitter.com/ByNM8tQc1K
— Mary’s Meals (@MarysMeals) May 12, 2016
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Cancer Research UK has previously carried out two trials of the technology, in shops and on the street. Last year it introduced contactless payments to its shops in Kensington, Guildford, Marylebone and Brighton. The trial enabled people to donate £2 by tapping their contactless card on a shop window fitted with an interactive screen. Earlier this year, it marked World Cancer Day by holding fundraising collections using contactless donation terminals in 16 locations, again allowing people to give £2.
Comic Relief also used contactless donations points on Red Nose Day this year, letting people make a donation of £1 via statues of famous comedians placed in cities around the UK.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.