Telethon enters the age of digital donations with Bankwest

WA charity Telethon is hoping to see its coffers swell this year thanks to the use of mobile touch and go payment terminals, allowing members of the public to ‘Tap-n-Donate’ for the first time.

It’s hoped the use of the terminals, part of a Bankwest trial, will help reverse the trend seen in recent years of less money being donated to charities because fewer people are carrying spare change.

Telethon Trustee, Mario D’Orazio said he was really excited to see the public’s reaction.

“Western Australians have been amazingly generous over Telethon’s 51 years, donating a staggering total of $268 million dollars.

“But in recent years, as people have started to carry less cash in their pockets and bags, our collection boxes have been a little emptier than we would like to see them.

“This trial will allow people to donate to Telethon quickly and easily with just a quick tap and go,” he said.

Bankwest Executive General Manager, Customer Solutions and Insights, Pieter Vorster, said the change in peoples’ spending habits has impacted all walks of life, including charities.

“We know people are carrying less cash and when they’re buying things in a shop the use of tap and go technology means this isn’t really much of an issue.

“But as our charity partners have told us, when you’re shaking a collection tin on the street outside the shop you’re somewhat left in limbo as increasingly people just don’t have that gold coin in their pocket to drop into the collection tin.

“As Australia is one of the leading adopters of tap and go technology, unless new technological solutions are found to support their fundraising efforts, the impact on charities will only increase as the move to being cash-free continues,” he said.

Another new element incorporated in this charity solution is the on screen interface members of the public will see when they go to tap and donate.

“When people look at the screen they’ll see a choice of donations they can make. They just tap the screen and then tap their card,” said Pieter.

The trial will also allow Bankwest’s data analytics team to assess the appetite and willingness of the general public to donate electronically and whether the technology could deliver an increase in donations for charities.

“Our enduring partnership with Telethon has become something of a marriage in WA and we’re thrilled to be helping Telethon not only as its banking partner once again but also to boost hopefully its charitable collections.

“We’re looking forward to seeing where this could go – we’d like to think this kind of thing could become a common sight in shopping malls across Australia, meaning charities will reap the rewards,” he said.