CHARITY SHOULD begin at the cashpoint, according to the Friends of the Elderly group which is encouraging banks to allow customers to donate to charity via ATMs.
This follows last week’s introduction of a Green Paper in Britain exploring the possibility of facilitating charitable donations through bank machines. The Green Paper also includes a plan to allow people to make small charitable donations when paying for goods by cards in shops.
Friends of the Elderly spokesman Dermot Kirwan said it would be very easy to introduce a system whereby the customer is asked if they want to make a donation to a charity, in the same way they are given the option to check their balance.
He said Irish charities had been “decimated” in the past year because of the recession.
“I know that some charities’ fundraising revenue is down by as much as 40 per cent.
“Many have had to cut down on services leaving thousands of vulnerable people without the vital supports,” Mr Kirwan added.
“Now that the Government has control of most of the Irish retail banking system, we have an opportunity to allow people to give in an instant by making a charitable donation when they make a withdrawal at an ATM.”
Mr Kirwan said research had found that almost one in three people said they found it hard to check if they could afford a donation when stopped on the street.
“It is a significant barrier to giving. We believe that the option of donating to charities via cash machines will be welcomed by the public and will be a big boost to charities.”
The charity is also asking shops to encourage customers to “round up the euro” when using a debit or credit card, with the extra money going to charity.
“Dublin Bus have shown us the way forward with their refund ticket fund that contributes a quarter of a million euro to charities every year,” Mr Kirwan said.
He said Friends of the Elderly would be encouraging the Government to think outside the box and initiate discussions on these proposals now.
