In a brilliant new move in the UK, people who are at the cash machine can now donate money to charities while they are withdrawing for their own purposes. More than 8000 cash machines on the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) group network are now able to accept donations. These donations can be as small as £1 and as large as £150 for eight specific charities.
RBS has put the figures in context, explaining that if only 1% of the people who make withdrawals included a £1 donation, they would be able to raise £6.5m a year.
This is actually just the first phase of what will be a massive government drive in the UK to boost charitable giving. The UK cash machine network plans to enable a hundred million cards to eventually be able to make donations through ATMs.
As Steve Lamshire, RBS senior community affairs manager explained, “Over 2bn ATM transactions were made in the UK last year; and 25% of those are made through our network, so it’s pretty obvious it is a regular part of most people’s daily lives. We know that finances are tight for many people, but if our customers do want to make a donation, we want to make the process as easy as possible for them.”
Making a donation will not get in the way of those who simply want to get to an ATM machine for cash and get out. The donations will either be a separate menu item at the ATM, or they will be a post-transaction option.