A self service donation kiosk lets people give to your charity on their own, with no volunteer present, by tapping a card or phone on a screen that shows the cause. For any organisation whose building is open longer than its volunteers can staff it, this is the difference between collecting for a few manned hours and collecting around the clock. This guide explains how unattended giving works, how it stays secure, and where it raises the most.
The appeal is simple arithmetic. A manned bucket collects while someone holds it. A self service kiosk collects every hour the doors are open, including evenings, weekends and quiet weekday afternoons when no one is on hand to ask. Over a month, those unstaffed hours add up to income that a manned approach never reaches.
How unattended giving works
The donor approaches the kiosk, reads your appeal, chooses a suggested amount or their own, and taps. On a DonorDynamics kiosk the experience runs on Give A Little, pre installed, and payment runs through Stripe Tap to Pay built into the device. The gift settles to your existing account, the campaign is recorded, and a Gift Aid declaration is captured on screen where the donor adds one. The donor needs no help and no app, because the whole flow is designed to be understood by a first time user in seconds.
Because no one is watching the device, two things matter more than usual: it has to keep working without a babysitter, and it has to be secure. A self service kiosk runs in locked kiosk mode, which means it only ever shows the giving screen and cannot be used for anything else. With remote management, you can change the cause, check that each device is online and update settings without visiting, so an unattended estate of kiosks stays current from your desk.
Keeping an unattended kiosk secure
Security for a self service kiosk has two sides, the money and the hardware. On the money, your team never handles card data, because the device is PCI DSS compliant and stores nothing locally, and funds go straight to the bank through Stripe. That removes the cash handling risk that comes with tins and buckets entirely.
On the hardware, the floor standing formats are built to stand alone in public. The tablet is bolted in and sits behind a locked door with key access, the stand is heavy and stable with internal cable management, and the device runs in kiosk mode so it cannot be tampered with through the screen. That combination is what lets a kiosk sit unattended in a foyer overnight and still be there, working, in the morning.
Where self service kiosks raise the most
Unattended giving suits places that never really close or that draw visitors outside staffed hours. Cathedrals and large churches open all day. Hospitals and hospices that run around the clock, where a kiosk in the atrium catches gratitude at any hour, as our hospitals page and hospices page describe. Museums, galleries and heritage sites with steady daytime footfall. Transport hubs, animal shelters and visitor centres where people pass through with goodwill but little cash. Anywhere people are present but volunteers are not is where a self service kiosk earns its place.
Choosing a self service kiosk
For unattended use you want a secured floor standing format. The CharityStand is the full floor kiosk for busy public spaces, with the hardware locked down for exactly this purpose. The CharityPole gives a slimmer freestanding footprint where space is tighter. The CharityWall mounts at eye level where there is no floor to spare. All run Android 14 on the same contactless hardware and are managed remotely from one place, and all are a one time purchase from 399 pounds with no subscription to us.
For the broader idea of fixed giving points, see what a giving station is. To compare a kiosk with a cheaper card reader, read the card reader versus donation kiosk guide. Or browse the range and tell us about your building.
Frequently asked questions
What is a self service donation kiosk? It is a giving device that people use on their own, with no volunteer present, tapping a card or phone on a screen to donate to a charity at any hour the building is open.
Are unattended donation kiosks secure? Yes. They run in locked kiosk mode, store no card data and are PCI DSS compliant, and the floor standing formats have the tablet bolted in behind a locked door, so they are safe to leave unattended in public.
Do self service kiosks need staff? No. They are designed for unattended use and are managed remotely, so you can change the cause and check each device is online without visiting it.
How much does a self service donation kiosk cost? DonorDynamics kiosks are a one time purchase from 399 pounds, with no subscription to us. Give A Little applies a platform fee and Stripe charges its standard rate.