Hello All, as we approach Christmas and thoughts turn to carolling to raise money for charity in front of the local supermarkets I am concerned that my own habit of not carrying cash and paying for my shopping with card is going to be the norm for many shoppers and potential donators will not be able to donate easily meaning charities suffer. Is there a good source of swipe payment machines that can be rented or borrowed to facilitate easier collection of donations? Is technology still being avoided due to transaction charges or rental fees. Keen to see if there are any other bands out there who have grasped technology and are benefiting from taking the leap. Looking at some websites it would seem in my opinion only the larger more affluent bands could afford the fees. So far I've not found one that will rent systems for just a weekend. Minimum period is a week. Goodbox.com is the site where I did research.
CHRISTMAS CHARITY COLLECTING BY CARD
- Thread starter Clyde’73
- Start date
COUTOISMAN
New Member
Hi There,
i have recently purchased a card machine for our band for this very same reason.
I chose one from a company called iZettle which i purchased through Amazon, it is easy to set up and link to a smartphone via bluetooth which is it's way of communicating.
Then so long as you have a good enough mobile data connection you are good to go.
iZettle don't charge any monthly rental but do take a transaction charge of 2p in the pound.
Hope this helps you.
i have recently purchased a card machine for our band for this very same reason.
I chose one from a company called iZettle which i purchased through Amazon, it is easy to set up and link to a smartphone via bluetooth which is it's way of communicating.
Then so long as you have a good enough mobile data connection you are good to go.
iZettle don't charge any monthly rental but do take a transaction charge of 2p in the pound.
Hope this helps you.
Terry1970
New Member
In my "real" job as a taxi driver I use the sumup card reader, other drivers I know use izettle as mentioned above, both extremely easy to set up and use, although at the moment with sumup the machine can be bought for only 16 shiny English pound coins on ebay and the first £500 you take are transaction free, and after that its only 1.69 percent transaction fee, not much cheaper than izettle but when you take as much card payments as I do it will soon add up.
Secondly, thanks for the heads up, I would never of even considered taking my card reader when we go carolling.
Secondly, thanks for the heads up, I would never of even considered taking my card reader when we go carolling.
Lesley Richmond
New Member
In the busking community, cash is still the main source. A few buskers have the izettle, however, cash is by far the main way of donating.
GJG
Well-Known Member
I'm not convinced; in our town centre, even the old folk are getting used to paying for everything with contactless, and not carrying cash. There will still be cash donations, of course, but I do think that bands who attempt to do some form of socially distanced carolling this Christmas will definitely lose out if they don't have some way of accepting contactless card donations ...
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens this Christmas and at the moment it’s anybody’s guess. I think that some bands are finding ways to play in a modified form, but how will that will work in the longer term? With CV19 becoming more active again I’d be surprised if the footfall at Christmas wasn’t light and I don’t see anyone using payment methods other than Card Payment so mostly they won’t have cash in their pockets to give. With those factors in mind I’m not expecting to be playing, and if I do play it’s likely to be to small numbers of people who could only pay by card and who might well not like to donate in that visible and less than rapid way. On the plus side individual donations might be of higher values and if only six of you can play at a time - which would be tough, stressful and risky for players in lower section bands - it might be possible to cover more of the day by calling in a ‘relay’ of say two or three different groups from a Band.
My guess is that Christmas 2020 will most likely be a washout and that one needs to look to the following year.
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GJG
Well-Known Member
We are lucky. We have our own premises, which are sufficiently spacious to allow us to seat a full band with adequate social distancing. A "Covid-secure" team have done a lot of work to set up a full risk assessment, and we are now in our third week of a return to full rehearsals. We're using bell covers (which are utterly dreadful!), so using mutes isn't practical, and we don't have room for large percussion other than a basic kit, but we are rehearsing. Ensemble isn't particularly tight - people are struggling to get used to listening to each other when sitting 2 metres apart (it's a long way from soprano to 1st trombone!), but I take the view that if we can get used to playing together like that, then if and when things return to normal and we sit in normal contest formation (ie on top of each other) then the ensemble should be superb ...
Lesley Richmond
New Member
My son is a busker and I spend hours supervising this activity. Only one person has approached me to say they wish they had some cash on them.
I've watched the buskers in York and Chester and cash is the only method of donation I've seen. In Bath, there were two buskers with card readers.
GJG
Well-Known Member
Maybe it's a regional thing; in London, in my experience, one rarely sees buskers without contactless machines ...
John Brooks
Well-Known Member
Here's a notice I just saw on-line from The Salvation Army in Ontario.
