Cancer Research UK is the first charity to trial contactless donation technology on this scale.

As of November 2015, there were a total of 78.3m contactless cards in issue in the UK which was a 40.1% increase over the course of the year[1] and contactless is increasingly seen as the best way to make everyday payments. The third sector has an opportunity to take advantage of this growth through the contactless donation solution, which gives consumers a new way to give to charity. In 2014, 55% of all donations direct to charities in the UK were made with cash, so it’s important that as card payments represent an increasing share of consumer spend, charities look for new solutions to help them replace valuable cash income.

The solution itself provides an innovative fixed and mobile contactless only solution in place of traditional collection tins:

- A safe and secure card-reader replaces the usual slot found at the top of a charity tin
- The same collection tin format, combined with state of the art technology, is reassuring for donors and is operated by volunteers
- The tin uses technology that is already live in the vending sector where an operator is not required
- Consumers can just touch on the reader using their card to donate £2 to Cancer Research UK
In March 2015, Save the Children piloted mobile contactless collection tins and counter-top donation terminals at a London coffee shop, shopping centre and tube station, and a Manchester music venue. Given the choice between contactless and cash collection tins, around 70% of shoppers still chose to donate in cash and 30% gave via contactless cards.

The new mobile contactless donation solution (CDS) will be available at 16 locations across London, Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds* from 4th February, as part of Cancer Research UK’s fundraising campaign on World Cancer Day.

Hannah Fitzsimons, Managing Director UK and International Corporate for Elavon said: “We have seen through our previous pilots that there is an appetite for contactless payments to help the third sector, offering consumers a safe and secure way to make donations. Elavon has the experience to help bring new technology in payments to help charities such as Save The Children and now Cancer Research UK in what will be the biggest launch of its kind, rolling out the contactless only donations services to 16 locations in the UK. We look forward to seeing the results after 4th February to help raise valuable funds for Cancer Research UK.”