Cellphones provide means of making donations to tsunami relief organizations

Cell phones have provided a quick and efficient way of making financial donations to the relief efforts in Southeast Asia.  It is sometimes hard to know where to give or how (mail a check?  use a credit card?  money order?).

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that in Italy, the cellphone industry promoted a service in which cellphone customers could send a text message to a specified number and a donation of €1 ($1.36) would be made to the charity fund.  The cellphone customer only has to push seven buttons and a donation is made.  By Friday of the week of the tsunami, this method had raised €15 million.

Spain and China cell phone service providers employed similar plans where by customers could call a number and a quick beep after dialing indicated that a donation of a specified amount had been made to a charity fund.  The charge shows up on the phone bill the next month.