Cashless option at shrines and temples

Last month, December 2024, Paypay, a digital payment app, released a service for cashless offerings at shrines and temples. However, cashless offerings have been available at some shrines and temples since at least 2018. The number were few, but with the release of the Paypay service the numbers are sure to increase. 

Yesterday, I noticed that Kawagoe Kumano Shrine (pictured above) now have a cashless option. They use Jcoin, which is also a digital payment app. All cashless services operate in a similar way: scan the QR code and use the app to donate (without a charge) an offering to the shrine or temple. This is instead of throwing some coins into the 'saisenbako' or offering box that is positioned in front of the temple or shrine. 

The idea of the cashless service is to make it easier and quicker for visitors to donate at the shrine. However, the QR code is positioned near the offering box, which means you still have to line up to scan it. It actually takes longer to scan a code and then enter the amount of your offering, then it does to throw a few coins into a box! Not to knock the service, it does have some merits, I'm just not sure "easy" and "speedier" are the main benefits of cashless options at shrines and temples!