A new ‘tap to donate' donation system being rolled out at one of New Zealand's biggest fast food brands is about to benefit Surf Life Saving New Zealand.

New ‘tap to donate' units are being rolled out in 40 KFC stores to enable customers to use their credit card and pay wave technology to make a quick and easy donation to Surf Life Saving NZ.

The Donation Point Tap back end system feeds into the existing New Zealand EFTPOS network, feeding funds straight to Surf Life Saving NZ's bank account overnight, eliminating cash collection costs or risk of coin box theft.

SLSNZ senior executive Matt Warren says street collecting has been less and less effective during past years so the organisation has been looking for a way to use pay wave technology.

'As a charity, we rely on public donations and in today's increasingly cashless society we need to find innovative new ways to fundraise as traditional methods are just not as effective.

'This technology lets us connect to donors in a way that suits them best. By making it easy, we hope that it encourages more people to support Surf Life Saving.”

The units will be placed at 40 selected KFC restaurants.