Rural churches are said to be facing a ‘funding crisis’ as fewer parishioners carry money, cash withdrawals are thwarted by bank closures in smaller towns and patchy internet connections make digital payments problematic.

As more of us now have less change rattling around in our pockets, senior reporter Lauren Abbott looks at the impact our increasingly cashless society is having on Kent’s parishes and places of worship.

Whether you’re a regular church-goer or someone who visits for a special occasion, we can perhaps all recall a time when we’ve dropped some change, or placed a donation envelope, into the velvet-coated collection plate.

But the vital funds churches are able to collect from their generous donors is said to be under threat - in rural areas in particular - as cashless transactions become more common and fewer of us keep physical notes and coins in our purses and wallets.

Specialist insurers Ecclesiastical Insurance say rural churches are experiencing greater difficulties in collecting money when compared with their urban peers, as digital payments have overtaken cash transactions in the last few years.

Raising funds in Kent

When asked if internet connectivity for digital banking was an issue for her small group of rural churches Reverend Fiona Haskett replied ‘yes, oh my goodness yes’.

Collections at her churches, which include St Peter and St Paul’s Headcorn, St Mary’s Sutton Valence, St Peter and St Paul’s East Sutton and St Michael’s Chart Sutton, have dropped dramatically at occasions such as weddings, baptisms or funerals because normally generous visitors now find they don’t have the physical money in their purses to leave a donation when collection trays are circulated.

In Headcorn, broadband is being installed within the next few weeks to enable a card reader, but hooking up in more remote areas and drilling into old buildings, she says, has not been entirely straightforward.

Revd. Haskett explained: “People would donate more if we had a card machine.

“But in the middle of nowhere hooking up to broadband is not easy.

“Headcorn is a bigger church and is more central to the village so we had the people and resources to get broadband installed.

“The Diocese has been really helpful - even selling us card readers at a subsidised price. However, it is down to us to get the broadband.”

In a sign of the times, regular parishioners, she explains, can choose to give by direct debit which has enabled a successful workaround to overcome issues of less cash in circulation.

But the difference is truly felt during special, larger services, or fundraising events, where more potential donors come armed with only a mobile phone or debit card and no other means to donate.

They are issues, Revd Haskett says, compounded by fewer banking options locally.

She explained: “Bank closures have also been a problem.

“There is a bank van that now comes to Headcorn from Natwest after its branch in the village closed down. Lots of older people rely on that. But there are quite regularly problems with the van so that does present issues.

“In these very rural places people are having to drive some way for banks, they now have to drive to Maidstone or Tenterden to find a bank.”

Church funds are extremely vital, providing buildings with an opportunity to renovate or improve areas for visitors or meet the cost for upgrades to essential equipment.

In Headcorn, the church is fundraising for a kitchen and a toilet, while a new bathroom is also needed in East Sutton. Chart Sutton needs money for its heating while the cost of general maintenance is demanding attention in Sutton Valence.

And when day-to-day expenses are already high - every single penny that can be raised is essential - and means any drop in donations is very much felt.

Rev Haskett added: “We get no money from outside sources, there is no national funding.

“Every penny has to be raised by the church.”

In 2020 Ecclesiastical launched a church fundraising hub for insurance customers providing fundraising resources and ideas.

But church operations director at the firm, Helen Richards, said the shift in banking habits is continuing to present challenges.

She said: “As our banking habits have changed over the years, churches have had to adapt to make sure they’re keeping up. By embracing digital donations they’re able to safeguard their income generation, which is great news - helping to preserve the church now and into the future.

“There are challenges ahead though, not least the issue around rural connectivity issues and bank closures. It’s a concern that so many respondents to our survey said they don’t have a fundraising plan in place. From a future resilience of the church perspective this exposes them to risks – such as the loss of one revenue stream in cash donations.”

Revd. Charlie Lloyd-Evans of St Mary’s in Greenhithe and St Peter and St Paul’s in Swanscombe, came to the UK after nine years in Dubai, which she described as far more of a ‘cashless society’.

While not in an ‘overly rural’ location securing internet connection has been an issue with light beam technology having had to be adopted to transfer wifi.

She said the introduction of a cashless system has triggered an increase in the money received from special events.

She explained: “I came over during Covid and I was very enthusiastic about introducing a more cashless payment method.

“Internet connectivity is certainly an issue and we’re not overly rural.”

Revd. Lloyd-Evans says it also takes time for older parishioners to have confidence in digital payments and so cash remains an alternative option for all those who want it.

A preference for cash

The Parish of the Good Shepherd oversees St Paul’s Church in Dover and St Finbar’s Church in the village of Aylesham.

Thanks to internet access and a good 4G signal, both churches offer the option for digital payments while many active members also make a regular donation by standing order.

However, despite the option for digital payments, the parish secretary said many people, particularly among the older generations, still prefer cash.

She explained: “We do find people still prefer cash. The older people are much more willing to use cash.

“With churches, you do have more of an older generation.”

Sir Paul Britton is chairman of the charity Friends of Kent Churches.

The organisation was founded in 1949 and encourages people to understand and value the county’s church buildings while raising money and giving grants for repairs and the installation of community facilities.

He says ‘there is a problem’ in some areas, particularly when it comes to collecting from casual visitors, which can form a significant proportion of a church’s donations.

He said: “Many members of a congregation can make a donation by another means such as a standing order.

“Casual visitors - that’s where I think it can have a big impact.

“A lot of rural churches are open every day.

“Quite a lot of them are putting in new card readers. They are probably very useful when you have a wedding or a christening and of course funerals.”

“Where donations aren’t so frequent it may not make a card reader worthwhile, because of the charges attached to them.”

Advances in technology

Acutely aware of people’s changing behaviour, Canterbury Diocese has so far helped around 50 of its churches to move towards contactless donations thanks to devices provided by a national generosity scheme.

The rollout of the subsidised devices, says the diocese, make it possible to donate by card or mobile.

Lindsay Yates, Diocesan generous giving advisor, described it as an ‘important development’.

She explained: “Many people carry less cash than they used to, and evidence suggests that most people give more generously when they give digitally.

“It is therefore anticipated that using these devices will help churches maximise their one-off donations and encourage greater generosity amongst their congregations, communities and visitors.

“Overall the contactless rollout has resulted in the churches involved receiving a total of almost £11k since the rollout in mid-May, which is fantastic.

“We hope that as network coverage improves across Kent, this will allow even more churches to access contactless devices.”

Among those to have taken charge of a device is James Lakeland from St Andrew’s Church at Barming Heath.

He said with fewer church-goers arriving with cash it made for a sensible investment.

He explained: “We found that parishioners don’t always arrive at church with money in their pockets that they can put in the collection tin. So, we have investigated this particular device to allow them to tap and go.”

On the other side of the county - where churches have been able to adopt digital payments it has also proved to be somewhat of a gamechanger.

The Diocese of Rochester says funds generated through digital giving are now ‘substantial and increasing’ and money collected through ‘digital giving’ has gone from from £103,376 in 2020 to £329,526 in 2023.”

In March the Diocesan finance team took delivery of 42 contactless card readers as part of a national project to encourage digital giving in church.

Liz Mullins, generous giving advisor for the Church of England diocese said: “We are indeed an increasingly cashless society. While we find most regular churchgoers donate through standing order or direct debit, for the occasional visitor who wants to contribute to the upkeep of our beautiful churches, card readers are proving a lifeline.

“Churches wanting to embrace digital giving in some of our more rural areas do face challenges around connectivity, however, there are several options of machine available now that can help with this – including ones which work offline.

“This is alongside lots of practical support from us in the diocesan giving team and at a national level that we find is well used and provides solutions.”