Donate contactless with Tap London
Have you heard of Tap London? It's a new way to donate £3 to homeless initiatives by tapping a contactless payment card.
What is the “Tap London” campaign? To help make it easier for Londoners to support homeless initiatives, City Hall has installed ‘Tap London’ devices across the city where you can donate £3 by tapping your contactless payment card or contactless payment device
.
You might see these ‘Tap London’ points dotted around the capital, see the map of locations here, and can tap your card or contactless device as often as you like
What do you think of this way of donating, and had you heard of this before? Is this a good or bad innovation to support rough sleepers? Would you use Tap London if you saw such a device? Why or why not?
Summary
Thanks everyone for joining in this discussion. We have shared your feedback with our colleagues in the Housing Team.
The Tap London donation points have raised over £64.000 so far. We'll keep you updated on the next steps.
Talk London
The discussion ran from 28 November 2018 - 28 February 2019
Closed
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Log into your accountAnonymous - account deleted
Community Member 6 years agoTwo themes to challenge:
1) Contactless is an unsafe payment method. It should not be forced on bank customers - and should not become the default (or only) means of payment for anything.
2) Stop treating the symptom (i.e. homelessness...
Show full commentTwo themes to challenge:
1) Contactless is an unsafe payment method. It should not be forced on bank customers - and should not become the default (or only) means of payment for anything.
2) Stop treating the symptom (i.e. homelessness) without tackling the root cause (i.e. mass immigration.)
5 million extra people since 2004 have pushed up housing costs - and displaced the poorest in society who cannot afford rent increases.
So any funds raised should be aimed at discouraging immigration - until house building has caught up (along with extra classrooms, health clinics and transport)
Anonymous - account deleted
Community Member 6 years agoTwo themes to challenge:
1) Contactless is an unsafe payment method. It should not be forced on bank customers - and should not become the default (or only) means of payment for anything.
2) Stop treating the symptom (i.e. homelessness...
Show full commentTwo themes to challenge:
1) Contactless is an unsafe payment method. It should not be forced on bank customers - and should not become the default (or only) means of payment for anything.
2) Stop treating the symptom (i.e. homelessness) without tackling the root cause (i.e. mass immigration.)
5 million extra people since 2004 have pushed up housing costs - and displaced the poorest in society who canot afford rent increases.
So any funds raised should be aimed at discouraging immigration - until house building has caught up (along with extra classrooms, health clinics and transport)
Neil-Anthony
Community Member 6 years agoExcellent iniative. Just hope the administration costs only take up a small proportion of monies raised.
I live in south east London, and only rarely travel into central London, so having donation points more widely dispersed, e.g. in...
Show full commentExcellent iniative. Just hope the administration costs only take up a small proportion of monies raised.
I live in south east London, and only rarely travel into central London, so having donation points more widely dispersed, e.g. in Bromley shoping centre, would be realy useful.
Show less of commentcardriver
Community Member 6 years agoIs a good idea as long as you've got the money and it is going to the people who need it.
Show full commentIs a good idea as long as you've got the money and it is going to the people who need it.
Show less of commentTalk London
Official Representative 6 years agoThanks everyone for sharing your views.
Some of you have expressed concerns around fraud or safety. The Tap London units are locked to the Tap bank account, meaning that donations can't be diverted. Like a contactless payment each transaction is encrypted by third-parties on the spot, so Tap London are unable to see any of your card details or data.
Since we started this discussion, have any of you seen or used a Tap London device?
Talk London
nordicchick
Community Member 6 years agoSuper idea and delivered at the right price point. Few carry money these days and this will get more people thinking about homelessness.
Show full commentSuper idea and delivered at the right price point. Few carry money these days and this will get more people thinking about homelessness.
Show less of commentRossers14
Community Member 6 years agoHow do we really know where the money is going? I'm worried about fraud and that more than £3 could be taken from my account. I do give money to the homeless regularly - but it looks like the public are now being asked to solve the problem...
Show full commentHow do we really know where the money is going? I'm worried about fraud and that more than £3 could be taken from my account. I do give money to the homeless regularly - but it looks like the public are now being asked to solve the problem when it is the government who need to help these people and eradicate homlessness.
Show less of commentHUNTCJ
Community Member 6 years agoThis is a great idea and presumably will mean that the money goes to organisations helping people to move into stable accommodation, rather than to sustain a life on the streets.
The benefit to them being on the street (rather than online...
Show full commentThis is a great idea and presumably will mean that the money goes to organisations helping people to move into stable accommodation, rather than to sustain a life on the streets.
The benefit to them being on the street (rather than online for example) is that people can donate there and then rather than giving cash directly to people (which is never a great idea) but are likely to still remember that they want to donate.
I'd worry about fraud (as some other people have mentioned) but if it's small amounts it's a risk worth taking.
Show less of commentfumatteo
Community Member 6 years agoGreat initiative. It would be good if there was publicity about how the money would be used; some simple clear messages which will get across everyone. Nobody wants to have fellow Londoners sleeping rough or begging.
Show full commentGreat initiative. It would be good if there was publicity about how the money would be used; some simple clear messages which will get across everyone. Nobody wants to have fellow Londoners sleeping rough or begging.
Show less of commentTalk London
Official Representative 6 years agoHi Fumatteo
Thanks for joining this discussion.
Money donated through this campaign will go direct to a coalition of 22 long-established homelessness charities - the London Homeless Charities Group – which between them help thousands of people each year. The donations will be divided equally between them, and will be spent on direct services in the capital to:
• help new rough sleepers not to spend a second night out
• help those living on the streets to leave them and not return
• help to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place
We hope this helps.
Have you come across any of the Tap London devices yet? Would you or would you not tap if you saw one?
Talk London
Tslh
Community Member 6 years agoNever heard of this idea- sounds great on paper, but what if fraudsters created fake 'Tap' points?
Show full commentNever heard of this idea- sounds great on paper, but what if fraudsters created fake 'Tap' points?
Show less of commentcasalotti
Community Member 6 years agoNice idea, let's use some of the money also to tackle the cause of homelessness so that we can try to prevent it.
Show full commentNice idea, let's use some of the money also to tackle the cause of homelessness so that we can try to prevent it.
Show less of commentAndrea Pavan
Community Member 6 years agoTime will surely tell whether this idea is effective. However, I noticed there are just a bunch of 'Tap London' points, and they are all in central London.
I wonder if it wouldn't be more effective to just have some advertising boards with...
Show full commentTime will surely tell whether this idea is effective. However, I noticed there are just a bunch of 'Tap London' points, and they are all in central London.
I wonder if it wouldn't be more effective to just have some advertising boards with QR codes for a website where the payment could be done easily. The boards could be put on public transport, and in this way it would be possible to reach far more people.
Show less of commentAnonymous - account deleted
Community Member 6 years agoThis was an idea that was discussed as part of our coding project at Birkbeck University. This would be a brilliant idea. With people not carrying as much change as was once before (including myself) this gives us the opportunity to offer...
Show full commentThis was an idea that was discussed as part of our coding project at Birkbeck University. This would be a brilliant idea. With people not carrying as much change as was once before (including myself) this gives us the opportunity to offer people around London a small donation.
In regards to homelessness it will be about collaborating with homeless charities to ensure that the money is going towards safe shelter for that person.
Show less of commentSophia Azzopardi
Community Member 6 years agoI have not heard of this way of donating but I think it is a fantastic idea, as it allows people to donate when they are able to do so and not worry about not having change or not wanting to subcribe on a money basis. It frees people and...
Show full commentI have not heard of this way of donating but I think it is a fantastic idea, as it allows people to donate when they are able to do so and not worry about not having change or not wanting to subcribe on a money basis. It frees people and gives them a choice
Show less of commentSeabreeze
Community Member 6 years agoNo I hadnt heard of this before.
I would be more inclined to give this way than directly to someone begging and saying they were homeless on the streets..
No I hadnt heard of this before.
I would be more inclined to give this way than directly to someone begging and saying they were homeless on the streets..
Allt.Banon
Community Member 6 years agoI'm not convinced that this will in any way replace the issue of begging - if I were begging I'd want my own money not someone smiling to tell me they'd just tapped £3 for my sort of person. It'd not a bad idea but it doesn't answer the...
Show full commentI'm not convinced that this will in any way replace the issue of begging - if I were begging I'd want my own money not someone smiling to tell me they'd just tapped £3 for my sort of person. It'd not a bad idea but it doesn't answer the need to direct people to the agencies it supports. Sites like streetlink and nextmeal do this and don't necessarily require lots of £3 donations but just public - dare we add mayoral - awareness.
Show less of commentJad Adams
Community Member 6 years agoThis depends on one's confidence in the fairness of a centralised system of distributing the money to charities. I have not found such systems, whether run by central or local govenrment, to be very fair in the past. They generally...
Show full commentThis depends on one's confidence in the fairness of a centralised system of distributing the money to charities. I have not found such systems, whether run by central or local govenrment, to be very fair in the past. They generally subvert the charity (and the charity's resources) to their own political priorities.
I have extensive knowledge of the charitable sector and I am sickened at the way some charities (including homelessness charities) are operating like big corporations with the bloated salaries, expenses, offices and staff levels of successful businesses. People need to know hteir donations are going direct to people in need, and for that the system has to be focussed on local (borough by borough) work.
This system would work with a clearly designated objective such as: 'We aim to have a volunteer-run and locally-led night shelter in every one of London's 32 boroughs, to which any homeless person can apply themselves for a bed for the night. Donate so we can achieve this objective. You will be able to visit the shelter, and volunteer if you wish.'
Licklebit
Community Member 6 years agoHow much does the machine cost to run. How much goes to admin fees and how much actually goes to the charity??
Show full commentHow much does the machine cost to run. How much goes to admin fees and how much actually goes to the charity??
Show less of commentredwayk
Community Member 6 years agoI don't trust contactless payments and never use them for anything, so am not going to use them for donations but appreciate that many people do use them and for those people it seems a good idea. However, I agree with other comments that...
Show full commentI don't trust contactless payments and never use them for anything, so am not going to use them for donations but appreciate that many people do use them and for those people it seems a good idea. However, I agree with other comments that it is an utter disgrace that anyone is living on the streets. I never say beggars on our streets in the past except in poor countries abroad.
Show less of commentCOSMA
Community Member 6 years agoIt is really just another way to collect money for the homeless, and I am certainly not against the idea. Yet, in truth, here are far too many organisations that collect money for the homeless already. Even places of worship collect money...
Show full commentIt is really just another way to collect money for the homeless, and I am certainly not against the idea. Yet, in truth, here are far too many organisations that collect money for the homeless already. Even places of worship collect money for the homeless, one being St Martin in the Field situated very near Trafalga Square, even places of worship in my own area are known to help the homeless, one regularly being a soup run.
I have to say, trying to make people feel guilty just to collect money is not good, indeed there are many people who are struggling financially themselves.
In my own opnion. Homeless Charities need seriously to come under one umbrella in London, as it is the only way we can really make sure that the money is received and spent well on all the homeless people in London and also offering homeless people a point of direct contact to help them. However, will the London Mayor allow homeless charites to come under one umbrella, if not then why not?
There is no valid excuse for any Homeless Charity refusal to come under one Umbrella in London. If the London Mayor is really serious about helping the homeless and protecting such vulnerable people then placing all homeless charities in London under one Umbrella is the only really anwer for progress.