More and more people are using credit and debit cards to make purchases and walking around with less cash than before.
Several Salvation Army divisions in the United States have begun to use credit and debit card facilities in addition to the kettle and mail appeals to get contributions. Reports indicate that the average donation jumped to $15 from $2 since the payment machines were first used in 2008.
Given the advances in technology, there is the belief that local Salvation Army divisions could take advantage of this new means of getting donations.
However, this possibility could be a long way off, according to Salvation Army Divisional Commander for Barbados and St Lucia, Major Dewhurst Jonas.
“We had a conference about four weeks ago in St Lucia,” Jonas said, “and we had a discussion on swiping machines. It is used on a limited basis in the United States because it is very expensive to rent those machines and you cannot guarantee that the returns would even pay the rent, so I think it is a little distance off.”
“We would not want to invest in having a machine that will be located at a particular area and it is not being used or used once in a while. If you want to give $100 or $500 it may be still easier to write that cheque,” Jonas said. (LK)
