The proposal is one of several in a "giving" green paper designed to promote a "culture of generosity" as part of PM David Cameron's big society agenda.

The Cabinet Office is calling on banks to follow the lead of Colombia, which has a system of ATM giving that allows customers to make a donation every time they withdraw money.

"We want banks and ATM providers to let us know how we might make this happen in the UK and whether there are ways we can facilitate this," says the paper.

The government is also calling for more UK businesses to follow firms such as Domino's Pizza and introduce a 'round-up-the-pound' option for customers to make small donations when paying by card.

Francis Maude, cabinet office minister, says: "This Green Paper offers practical common sense ways we can boost charitable giving. And it's just the start."

However, Maude's shadow Liam Byrne, says: "I'm sure Mr Cameron wants civil society to be stronger. We all do. But the test of his sincerity is not a good slogan, it's whether he'll help the charities issuing thousands of redundancy notices in the new year because of cuts that are too big and too fast and a new £170 million VAT bill."