Churches are finding it increasingly difficult to safely deposit the proceeds of the collection at a bank. Now that more and more bank branches are disappearing, it is hardly possible anymore to deposit that coins safely in the vicinity.
“This is a big problem for our older volunteers”, treasurer John van Dijck of the Immanuelparochie in Zevenbergen told Broadcasting Brabant. “To go such a long way with cash is not feasible for people between the ages of seventy and eighty. Moreover, we do not have the means to reimburse the kilometres. It is not that we are poor, but we can use every euro hard.”
It is not about small amounts, according to an inventory of the regional broadcaster. The weekly collections, sale of candles and offering blocks sometimes raise 10,000 euros per month. There are notes in between, but a large part is coins.
Thirty kilometers round trip
Until recently, the church in Zevenbergen could still deposit that money at the Rabobank in the center. But along with that branch, the coin machines also disappeared. “Now they have to drive more than thirty kilometers there and back to the nearest coin machine in Etten-Leur or Roosendaal,” said treasurer Van Dijck.
Since 1 October, all ATMs of Rabobank, ABN Amro and ING have merged into Geldmaat, recognizable by the bright yellow machines. In many places Geldmaat offers the possibility to deposit banknotes, but for coins you can only go to the Geldmaat machines in hardware stores.
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