A partnership between
Citing an increasing tendency for its parishioners to not carry cash, the Church of England is making the portable card readers available to more than 16,000 churches, cathedrals and other religious sites to accept payments.
The religious organizations can obtain the readers through the Church of England's Parish Buying portal, which is set up for the church to negotiate special terms for products and services for all of the churches.
The cashless payment options will be available to congregation members for events like weddings, christenings, church ceremonies and concerts, as well as for donations or booking church halls.
The SumUp and iZettle card readers accept contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and chip-and-PIN payments.
A second phase of the church's move into cashless payments is in testing. It calls for facilitating charitable donations on a self-serve basis, including passing a card reader around the church for the weekly collections.
"There is a clear need for our parishes to introduce card and contactless facilities, and we are excited to make this available through Parish Buying," John Preston, national stewardship officer for the Church of England, said in a Tuesday press release.
"How we pay for things is changing fast, especially for younger churchgoers who no longer carry cash," Preston added. "We want all generations to be able to make the most of their place of worship."
Stockholm-based iZettle views the church's move to advanced payments technology as being similar to what is happening in the broader payments landscape.
"Using iZettle, church-goers now have the choice to pay and make contributions in whatever way suits them best, whether it is by cash, card, mobile or wearable technology. It will benefit both the church and its visitors," Johan Bendz, chief strategy and communication officer at iZettle, said in the release.
