Payment choice, image motivation and contributions to charity: evidence from a field experiment

This study uses a door-to-door fundraising field experiment to examine the impact of payment choice on charitable giving. The three treatments are distinguished by whether respondents can donate cash, use their debit card or have both options. Cash donations are anonymous whereas debit card donations are observed by the solicitor.
Due to dwindling participation, revenues are significantly lower in the debit-only treatment. In the combined treatment, participation decreases relative to the cash-only treatment. Small donors drop out in particular, which indicates that offering the possibility to donate non-anonymously reduces the reputational payoff of anonymous donations.

JEL classification: C93; D64; H41; E42
Keywords: Payment choice, field experiment, image motivation