This jacket for homeless people sports a secure card reader, allowing compassionate passerby to donate digitally. Invented in the Netherlands by Parool, the charitable coat not only keeps those in need warm, it also allows them to receive donations with a built-in system that accepts debit and credit cars.
Altruistic strangers simply hold their card to the reader, which is on the front of the jacket for homeless people. One euro will automatically be credited to the wearer. Participating charitable organizations offer to turn that euro into food, a bath or place to sleep, so donors know their funds are going somewhere sustainable. Created by Stefan Leendertse and Carsten van Berkel, this system addresses the practice of homeless shelters in the Netherlands charging 5 euros as well as the issue of people not carrying cash or change on them.
What's Driving This Trend
- Digital Donations
- Opportunity for companies to innovate through implementing secure and user-friendly digital donation methods
- Wearable Payment Technology
- Opportunity to develop wearable payment technology to make paying for goods and services more seamless
- Charitable Technology
- Opportunity to create more technology solutions that make it easy for people to give back in a meaningful way
Who This Affects Most
- Fashion
- Opportunity for fashion companies to create more functional and innovative designs to serve a societal purpose
- Payment Processing
- Opportunity for payment processing companies to create more secure and convenient payment processing solutions
- Non-profit
- Opportunity for non-profit organizations to explore more tech-based solutions for fundraising activities and engagement with supporters
