In the face of a society that is becoming increasingly 'cashless', UK-based charity Mary's Meals have turned to Earnest Labs to create a device that will simplify and maximise the donation process.

The UK-based general public is an increasingly cashless bunch these days. In fact, contactless card spend amounted to £2.32 billion in 2015. To put that into further perspective, 10 contactless payments take place every second, and this figure is growing month on month.

A sense of convenience is central to contactless payments appeal, and now, Mary's Meals – a UK-based charity dedicated to feeding some of the world’s hungriest children – has partnered with Earnest Labs to co-opt the technology. The result is Lunchbox; a contactless donation device that the parties hope will bring about a significant increase in charitable contributions.

To make a donation, customers simply tap their cards to Lunchbox in order to automatically make a donation of 30p, enough to provide a lunch for a child in India, Haiti, Malawi or Liberia for an entire week.

Lunchbox will initially be trialled for three months in five café’s and restaurants across the U.K. Should initial figures prove encouraging, it’ll be rolled out across a wider number of eateries.

Although many of us would be hesitant to admit it, well-meaning attempts by bucket or clipboard wielding charity employees can be both impractical and intrusive. As a result, donations can be discouraged and Lunchbox could possibly be the answer to reverse this trend.

Technology's ability to simplify the donation process was also evidenced by Swedish mobile operator Three’s #datadonate initiative, which converts customers leftover data into money before sending it on to UNHCR in Syria.