Church to Take Donations on Charge Cards

Source: Associated Press

Worshippers can now pay their church collection with a charge card – at least in one village in northern Sweden.

In Norrfjaerden, just outside Piteaa, 560 miles north of Stockholm, the church is offering its worshippers “a modern opportunity” to make a contribution.

“Many of the churchgoers are young people who do not carry with them any cash, but use cards,” Pastor Karin Sandlund told The Associated Press on Monday.

“There are no automatic teller machines in Norrfjaerden. So when they arrive for the service on Sundays they’ve forgotten to bring something for the collection. That’s why we thought we would offer them an alternative,” she said.

Sandlund said she had often joked about fixing a card reader to the collection bag with her husband, who works for a bank in Norrfjaerden. “So we asked the church if it was OK to install a card reader in church, and they said we could test it for a year,” Sandlund said.

“We thought it was time to give the younger generation an alternative,” she said. “I think we will have followers. The church must keep up with things.”

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