In the wake of a magnitude-9 earthquake in Japan, American charities have kick started a new way of fund raising: collecting donations via ATM.
With the help of Wells Fargo, the American Red Cross has collected $1.3 million for Japan relief efforts from more than 9,000 ATMs nationwide, the Huffington Post reported. According to national banking officials, this is the first time ATM machines have been used to raise money for charity on a national level.
The process is simple: after logging into the ATM an extra option pops up next to the box that says "Deposit Cash." The machine suggests, "Donate to Charity."
The American Red Cross was thrilled by the experiment, the Star Tribune in Minnesota reported.
"It's a great fund raising tactic," said Michael Brown, vice president of corporate partnerships at the American Red Cross. "Hopefully it's something we can replicate in the future."
Last year, charities pulled a similar move by soliciting donations for earthquake victims via text message. That campaign earned more than $10 million for the people of Haiti, Tech Crunch reported.
Though using ATM machines to collect charitable donations is relatively unheard of in the United States, Mexico has been doing it for years, according to the Associated Press. In the United Kingdom, the government is considering plans to make it standard practice to ask ATM customers to donate to charity.
Email: estuart@desnews.com