.png)
Move over wreaths of carnations and lilies, a new option for funerals is to bring your credit card for a tap 'n' go donation. Sydney Funerals has launched the free service called Tap a Little Contribution (TLC) using off-the-shelf technology from Square.
Founder Scott Duncombe said the idea was to allow mourners to contribute to the cost of the funeral or to make a donation to charity, whichever the family prefers. "Over the years, I've seen that some families really do struggle, especially when it's a sudden death in the family, to come up with the funds for a funeral," Mr Duncombe said.
Advertisement
"
Families appreciate everybody wanting to help but most families end up with 30 to 40 bunches of flowers, which they just think is a bit of a waste."
Sydney Funerals commissioned research that found three out of five Australians worry about the cost of an unexpected funeral, especially Millennials concerned about the cost of burying a parent.
Mr Duncombe said he was also a wedding celebrant and he had watched cultural mores evolve, with gift registries and wishing wells for cash donations becoming more common.
Similarly with funerals, he said it was not unusual to have a way for mourners to contribute to the funeral or for bereaved families to request donations to charity instead of flowers, especially when the person had died of a specific disease. However, this was hindered by the fact many people no longer carried cash.
Robyn Foster, the vice-president of the Funeral Celebrants Association of Australia, said the idea was innovative and she expected other funeral providers to follow suit.
Comments