From unused subway fares, a monthly donation to charity

MetroChange is a new system designed to make use of the last bit of change on old New York City MetroCards by donating it to charity.

Every year, some USD 52 million is lost by users of New York City’s MetroCard payment system when they replace old cards that still have a small amount of value remaining. Aiming to put that leftover money to better use, MetroChange is a new system designed to capture that last bit of change on old cards and donate it to charity instead. MetroChange has designed a kiosk to be placed at busy subway stations throughout the city — “especially those where tourists and occasional users of the subway transition out of the subway system, transferring to an airport or regional train service”. Commuters and travelers who have a small amount of unused value remaining on a card can swipe that card at one of those kiosks, where the value will be recorded and transmitted to a central fund. The customer’s physical MetroCard, meanwhile, is taken for recycling. Then, MetroChange’s central fund will be converted into real money each month and donated to charity. The video below demonstrates how the kiosk works: MetroChange is now seeking partners to help make its charity platform a reality, according to a recent post on its blog. One to get involved in? Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann