The measure comes following a drop in donations in recent years.

Five Catholic Churches in Dublin are set to trial the introduction of contactless card payment machines in an effort to tackle the decline in cash donations.

According to the Times Ireland Edition there was a 19% decrease in the value of donations and legacies at the archdiocese between 2016 and 2017.

€2.4 million was given in 2017, down from €3.1 million the year before its most recent account filings show.


“We are piloting a new payment method in a small number of churches, with card machines in place at the back of the church to allow parishioners to make a contactless contribution,” a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said.