Charity begins at the ATM

[Miss Chicken]

I just read this article and I would like to know if people here would donate to charity this way if they could.

BRITAIN considering plans that would see the public asked to donate to good causes each time they use an ATM.
Britain's Government has said it is considering plans which would see the public asked to donate to good causes each time they use an ATM.
Ministers confirmed on Wednesday they are consulting with banks on the idea, common in Colombia and Mexico, to allow customers to give money to charities when they withdraw cash, or check their balance.
The Government will also discuss a plan to allow shoppers who pay for goods or services using debit cards in stores to round up the cost of purchases and donate the difference.

Rest of article here
I would have no problems donating this way if they would take small donations i.e. $1 or $2.

I don't use my debit card at stores (I only use it online) but I wouldn't mind it if the major stores could round up some of my cash purchases and give the difference to charities.

 

[Kestra]

I wouldn't. I dislike being interrupted in small, daily transactions like that. I also want to be able to research the organizations I am donating to and donating in a larger amount, rather than casually giving a few dollars here and there.

 

[tomalak301]

I wouldn't like this. For one, all I want is money from a transaction, nothing more and nothing less. The big reason though is I don't entirely like donating through a third party. How do I know where it's going or if it's even going to the place at all. It's kind of the same reason I don't do any deposits through the ATM. I want to make sure my Deposit get's into someone's hands, not something.

 

[Holdfast]

I don't mind the system being implemented, but I wouldn't actually donate using it myself. If nothing else, it would be a massive pain in the neck to keep all the zillions of receipts so you could claim the relevant tax back at the end of the year. In fact, it sounds so inconvenient that one wonders if it's a rather shrewd way of HM Treasury keeping the tax...

It would be an easy way of boosting the overall amount given to charity though, which is patently good. How it's decided which charities would benefit is I suppose an open question. I guess each shop/institution would be able to nominate a charity/charities of their choice for each year.

 

[RandyS]

I wouldn't. I dislike being interrupted in small, daily transactions like that. I also want to be able to research the organizations I am donating to and donating in a larger amount, rather than casually giving a few dollars here and there.

Agreed. And sensible.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I don't pay income tax so I would have no need to keep receipts. Even if I did pay tax donations under $2 are not tax exempt.

I do make donations, usually 50c, to 'button' sellers on the street if I like the charity they are selling for. I am not sure if there are button sellers in other countries. The stand on street corners and sell 'buttons' (which are usually small stickers with the charity name on them which people then stick to their shirts/lapels). The sellers do not issue receipts even if the donation is over $2.

I assume that people would be given a choices of charities to donate to at the ATM.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I voted no. It's not a bad idea, but, personally, I write one check a year to each of the four or five charities that I support.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Sounds like a good idea to me. It's not like it's mandatory or anything.

If nothing else, it would be a massive pain in the neck to keep all the zillions of receipts so you could claim the relevant tax back at the end of the year.

They're all electronic transactions, so the bank could easily send out a form at the end of the year for your taxes. Or you could just access your account online and print it out.

 

[WillsBabe]

I want to vote "No" because I loathe the idea of Government popping up in my daily life and affairs in this way. Truth of the matter is, I would probably push the "donate" button on several occassions a year in order to salve my conscience!

 

[Holdfast]

If nothing else, it would be a massive pain in the neck to keep all the zillions of receipts so you could claim the relevant tax back at the end of the year.

They're all electronic transactions, so the bank could easily send out a form at the end of the year for your taxes. Or you could just access your account online and print it out.

Depends how the system is structured, esp. the bit about using it with any purchase, not just ATM withdrawals.

If it's done like adding a tip in a restaurant (as I suspect it would be) you would need to keep the receipt, as the bank and your account online don't show how much went to the tip/donation, just the total amount debited from your account.

The chip & pin machines transmit the total requested to the bank's processing agent, not the breakdown between bill and tip (or in this case, purchase and donation). Only the restaurant/shop's own receipt would show that, not the credit/debit card receipt.

 

[Mr. B]

Honestly the "English or Espanol" screen is annoying enough... no more crap, please.

 

[RJDiogenes]

If nothing else, it would be a massive pain in the neck to keep all the zillions of receipts so you could claim the relevant tax back at the end of the year.

They're all electronic transactions, so the bank could easily send out a form at the end of the year for your taxes. Or you could just access your account online and print it out.

Depends how the system is structured, esp. the bit about using it with any purchase, not just ATM withdrawals.

If it's done like adding a tip in a restaurant (as I suspect it would be) you would need to keep the receipt, as the bank and your account online don't show how much went to the tip/donation, just the total amount debited from your account.

The chip & pin machines transmit the total requested to the bank's processing agent, not the breakdown between bill and tip (or in this case, purchase and donation). Only the restaurant/shop's own receipt would show that, not the credit/debit card receipt.

Yeah, but how hard would it be to make it a part of the process? If the ATM can tell the difference between the transaction and the fee, it can be made to make note of the charitable donation. The information is there in the form of the inputted data.

 

[kimc]

No, when I go to the ATM I just want to do my business and move on. I volunteer my time to charity as well as donate what I can. Getting hit up when doing other transactions would be like being pecked to death by ducks.

 

[Small White Car]

I already don't use ATMs because of all the extra fees.

So, uhm, I guess I can't really vote. This certainly wouldn't drag me back in.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I don't use ATMs because I almost never use cash (the only time I do is when somebody gives me cash, like "Hey, thanks for watching the house, here's $20", and I don't feel like driving all the way to my bank to deposit it).

 

[RJDiogenes]

I volunteer my time to charity as well as donate what I can.

What do you can?

 

[captcalhoun]

it's yet another fucking stupid idea from the government of stupid ideas.