A charity that has developed a way of modernising the old-fashioned donating tin is hoping the government's new drive to encourage more giving will bring in millions of pounds.
Thing of the past?: Pennies Foundation is modernising the old fashioned collection boxThe Pennies Foundation which launched last year is pioneering an innovative scheme that allows retailers to place an electronic charity collection box on their websites.
Budget hotel chain Travelodge launched a version on its website yesterday.
Customers will be given the opportunity to round up the price of their room and food purchase to the nearest pound with just one click - when booking online.
Each retailer can nominate a variety of chosen charities.
Last month the government launched a consultation process calling for charitable giving to become a 'social norm' which could prompt people to give to charity every time they use bank cards in shops or at cash machines.
The consultation runs until March 9.
A spokesman for the Pennies Foundation welcomed the move saying it could bring a much needed lift. Its technology works in two different ways, on websites but also at the cash register in the stores of retailers who have signed up to the scheme.
It's the same principal - about donating pennies, either by rounding up to the nearest pound or topping up by a fixed number of pence when presented with the chip & pin machine in shops.
Shoppers are given a choice every time - it's not a commitment, and it's a one-touch process on the credit-card machine. All the cash goes to charity because the Pennies Foundation receives funding for its administration costs.
The first retailer to try the scheme was Domino's Pizza in November. More than 100,000 Domino's customers rounded up their bills in the first eight weeks.
Carolyn Simons, head of business development at Pennies, said: 'In essence it's a new channel for the old habit of dropping a few coins into the cashbox on the retailer's counter. Pennies makes sense given the economic climate and the way that we pay increasingly by card or over the internet.'
She said if half of the UK's 43m card holders gave 8p a week in this way, £89m a year could be raised: 'That's a lot of money to help charities making a difference to many of the most vulnerable in our communities through charities big and small.
'Some of these services are under threat as traditional income sources for charities are under real pressure.'