No coins for Flag Day? Donate with your ez-link card
Voluntary welfare organisation Jamiyah goes high-tech for its Flag Day tomorrow
Coin-filled tins may soon be a thing of the past for Flag Days.
At Jamiyah Singapore's fund-raising drive tomorrow, donations can be made with a simple tap of an ez-link card.
Jamiyah, a voluntary welfare organisation (VWO) that helps the poor and disadvantaged, collaborated with local tech company Donorbox for the initiative.
Over 300 volunteers, armed with mobile phones with the Donorbox Flag Day app installed, will be collecting donations islandwide from 7am to 7pm.
All passers-by have to do is tap their ez-link cards onto the back of the volunteers' phones to donate $1 to the VWO. Donors can tap multiple times if they wish to.
Co-branded cards with the ez-link function, like the Passion Card, can also be used.
According to Mr Steven Tan, the managing director of Donorbox, it is the first time a VWO here is using a near field communication-enabled phone and ez-link card to raise funds for its Flag Day.
Jamiyah Singapore opted for the tap-and-donate method due to its efficiency and speed.
The organisation's vice-president I, Dr H.M. Saleem, told The New Paper: "It is efficient because we no longer have to count the number of tins nor the amount of money inside.
"It is fast because people do not have to look for coins in their bags; all they have to do is tap and go."
The application is also more secure than collecting donations through cash-handling, said Mr Tan.
He added: "There is a chance volunteers can lose coin tins.
It is efficient because we no longer have to count the number of tins nor the amount of money inside. It is fast because people do not have to look for coins in their bags; all they have to do is tap and go.Dr H.M. Saleem, vice-president I of Jamiyah Singapore
"This app allows Jamiyah Singapore to see real-time reports of the number of transactions at any one time. Our payment function has undergone a series of tests with EZ-Link (which manages the sale, distribution and management of ez-link cards) to ensure its safety."
The donations will be used to fund Jamiyah Singapore's programmes and services, such as its four welfare homes and eight education centres, as well as its community service programmes. It hopes to raise $50,000 this year.
Some of its volunteers will still be collecting donations through coin tins.
Interested volunteers may register by calling Jamiyah Children's Home on 6344-9533.
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