The red Salvation Army kettles will begin appearing outside Triangle stores today, and the fundraising standby comes with a new feature this year.
If you're short on cash, the bell-ringers will accept plastic at four locations.
Shoppers can walk up, swipe their Visa, MasterCard or American Express through a machine attached to one of the tripod's legs, punch in the amount of their donations and collect a receipt.
"With so many people telling us they don't carry cash, we want to make sure that we're not turning people away who may have donated," said spokeswoman Paige Bagwell.
In a year when requests for services have increased 35 percent and donations are down 15 percent, every potential donation matters more, Bagwell said.
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