A leading Ukrainian Jewish community has introduced a tzedakah ATM.
The pioneering automated machine, or “Tzedakahmat,” which operates like a regular automated teller machine, enables congregants and visitors to make donations for charitable purposes by transferring funds from their credit cards to the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk. The machine stands in the entrance hall of the community’s Golden Rose synagogue.
The technology takes advantage of the fact that today people tend to use such machines more frequently and to carry small amounts of cash with them. Tzedakahmat also accepts cash in Ukraine’s currency, which can be deposited directly into the machine. The machine is associated with Ukraine’s Privatbank.
The innovative idea is the brainchild of the leaders of the Dnepropetrovsk Jewish community, headed by Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetzky, chief rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk and the surrounding region.
Vyacheslav Brez, Dnepropetrovsk’s community director, told JTA that such devices may soon be active in other organizations operated by the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk, a member of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine.
