ATM 'Giving Kiosks' Arrive in Churches
Everyone's gotta change with the times, including religious faiths, and we're not talking about same-sex marriage here. We're talking about plastic. Cash has been on the outs with the American public for a while now. Some Americans don't even bother to carry any at this point, and churches are trying to keep pace. Many now accept credit cards or automatic bank transfers for donations. Dr. Marty Baker, pastor of Stevens Creek Community Church in Augusta, Georgia, has taken electronic donations to a new level by developing an ATM-like kiosk where his congregation can swipe and give on their way in or out of church.
The system was so successful -- boosting charitable donations by 18 percent since its installation -- that he started marketing them to other congregations. Dr. Baker has now placed his "Giving Kiosks" in 35 churches across the nation, with plenty of others showing interest in the device.
New IRS rules that go into effect in 2007 requiring all charitable donations under $250 to be documented. These kiosks will turn out to be life savers as they produce an easy-to-follow paper trail.
However, some people can't get over the bizarre and perhaps disconcerting notion of ATMs in our churches. There are very few bastions from our connected consumer world left, and we're already losing planes.
From Consumerist
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