Willie Sutton robbed banks because that’s where the money was and, despite what people heard in the years after 2008, banks are still places with lots of money.
They are also places through which people can make charitable donations, a practice that is not limited to the United States of America. In fact, it is more popular in many parts of the world than in the U.S.
During the 2014 International Fundraising Congress (IFC), Della Weight, Daryl Upsall, Phil Woollam and Christian Schaake of THINK Consulting Solutions said that banking donations are spreading in popularity internationally, and they offered a look at some of the methods that are in place around the world.
- North America: Mobile banking is slow to develop, and the USA is still emphasizing cash.
- South America: Credit cards are supplanting bank transfers, paperless direct deposit in main fundraising markets.
- Western Europe: Widespread direct deposit (there are new 2014-16 SEPA requirements) including paperless, online and mobile banking.
- Eastern Europe: The percentage of people with a bank account is quite low in some countries, so generally paperless direct deposit is not available.
- Asia: Direct deposit is still growing, but cash still dominates in many places, for example China.
- Middle East: Online and mobile banking are beginning to take hold.
- Africa: Generally cash, mobile banking in Kenya and Nigeria, direct deposit in South Africa. (The dominant form of banking in Kenya is the M-Pesa system over the highly developed SMS-mobile phone system.
