People who go door to door collecting money for charity raise more if they take a direct debit card reader with them, trials run in the Netherlands last year show.

People who donated money using a direct debit (pin) card gave on average five times as much as those who donated cash, with an average payment of over €5, the trials showed.

Last year fund raisers for a muscle disease charity and animal welfare group Dierenbescherming went door-to-door equipped with both a collection pot and a card reader.

Some 20% of donations were made via bank card.

Twelve other charities are expected to start door-to-door collections via bank cards as well, but on a limited scale. Each charity will have just 50 card readers although the number will rise with the years.