Nationwide branch puts up ‘smart window poster’ that allows passers-by to make contactless donations to the homeless in first trial of its kind on the British high street
- The window has been set up in the building society’s Bath, Somerset branch
- Each tap to the contactless reader donates £3 towards local homeless people
- The scheme managed to raise around £400 pounds in its first week alone
- Nationwide developed the smart window in with local charity Julian House
A branch of the Nationwide Building Society in Somerset has put up a ‘smart window poster’ that allows passers-by to make contactless donations to the homeless.
This first trial of the concept on a British high street is being run at the Nationwide’s Union Street branch in Bath and aims to revolutionise charitable donations.
Each tap to the window’s contactless card reader donates three pounds towards homeless people in the area, with users able to tap multiple times per visit.
In its first week alone, the trial raised around £400.
It is hoped that the smart window concept will make it easier for people to donate money to people who are homeless.
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A branch of the Nationwide Building Society in Somerset has put up a ‘smart window poster’ that allows passers-by to make contactless donations to the homeless
The ‘Good Start Tap to Donate’ scheme is managed by local homeless charity Julian House and developed in tandem with the Nationwide Building Society and the Bath Business Improvement District.
All money raised by the ‘poster’ will go towards the Julian House Good Start fund, which aims to help improve and eradicate homelessness in Bath and North East Somerset.
‘At a time when many people don’t have spare change or may not wish to hand it directly to someone who is homeless, having a contactless point in the window of the branch has bridged the gap,’ said Nationwide manager Stephanie Pritchard.
‘As a branch we are very much here for the community,’ she added.
‘This novel way of raising money for a fantastic cause is a great example of how technology is playing a role in helping society, one tap at a time.’
‘Tapping could fund welcome packs,’ explained Julian House operations director Roanne Wootten.
These, she explained, ‘include toiletries and sanitary products in crisis accommodation, new bedding and essentials when moving into supported housing, a birth certificate, a passport or a driving licence.
‘Fundamentally it is about the person and what they need to help them to come off the streets — it will be different for everyone.’
This first trial of the concept on a British high street is being run at the Nationwide’s Union Street branch in Bath and aims to revolutionise charitable donations.
Each tap to the window’s contactless card reader donates three pounds towards homeless people in the area, with users able to tap multiple times per visit
In its first week alone, the trial raised around £400. It is hoped that the smart window concept will make it easier for people to donate money to people who are homeless
As a payment method, contactless usage continues to rapidly rise.
According to a UK Finance report, the number of contactless payments made in the UK across 2018 increased by 31 per cent over the previous year, reaching a total of around 7.4 billion payments.
Other charities and not-for-profit organisations — including The Big Issue — have also recently turned to contactless payments as a way of securing revenue.
The scheme is managed by local homeless charity Julian House and developed in tandem with the Nationwide Building Society and the Bath Business Improvement District
All money raised by the ‘poster’ will go towards the Julian House Good Start fund, which aims to help improve and eradicate homelessness in Bath and North East Somerset
This first trial of the concept on a British high street is being run at the Nationwide’s Union Street branch in Bath and aims to revolutionise charitable donations
Project iKozie: Helping the homeless to be independent
The iKozie is an individual ‘cozy’, self-contained, fully fitted, ergonomically designed single person home which was created to tackle the housing crisis and house the homeless. Yacht interiors and First Class airline suites inspired its design.
The iKozie is built using modular construction off-site and craned into position in the back garden of an existing house on completion. It will be used for move-on accommodation to help the homeless transition from hostels into independent living. It has a bedroom, shower room, living area and full kitchen including a washing machine.
The homes are inexpensive to build and can be stacked on top of each other to create a bigger community. Shallow foundations mean they work well on Brownfield sites.
The micro-home is designed to help people who have been institutionalised while living in hostels to become independent and fully responsible for all aspects of their life.
This is achieved by providing a cosy, well-designed, fully furnished, self-contained, single person home where they have to take responsibility for purchasing food and cooking, cleaning, laundry, heating and pay for rent, water bills, electricity bills, council bills. Only then can they stop being homeless.
The overall purpose is to provide a temporary self-contained home for one homeless person, teach them how to live independently and support them to find permanent housing and employment. Source: The Homeless Foundation
Designers say the homes could also be used to solve homelessness and help to create communities for students and young professionals
