A diocese in England has seen it’s digital donations more than double over the last two years, following a post-pandemic shift to cashless tithing.

The diocese of Chester says QR codes and contactless payments have seen digital donations rise from £114k in 2021 to £230k in 2022.

Nationally, digital payments in churches have risen from £5 million in 2021 to nearly £10 million in 2022, according to the Parish Buying Scheme

The statistics have been released as part of a drive towards more technology in churches within the Chester diocese.

They will be working with the National Church to place an additional 50 contactless devices into their parishes over the coming months.

The diocesan Digital Giving Adviser, Bessia Kanengoni, is in favour of the tech shift. She said: "It makes our churches more welcoming and inclusive to everyone who would like to give but does not carry cash. By including different ways for people to give, we allow them to express their generosity easily and in a way that they most prefer."

Financial statisticians say the pandemic accelerated an already rapidly-changing move towards cashless payments.

In 2010, over half of all UK payments were made by cash, but by 2017, card payments had moved into the lead.

Post-2020 analytics from UK Finance suggest cash is now only used in one in six payments, and one in four use cash less than once a month.