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The clang of coins in the Salvation Army's trademark red kettles is being replaced, at least in part, with the swipe of credit and debit cards, as some bell ringers began using handheld card readers here.

The effort, in Phoenix, is one of the Salvation Army's first using the card swipes to collect donations at its kettles, which have been a holiday institution since 1891.

"So many people shop with a debit card now. They just don't have cash, or extra change," said Sandi Gabel, a Salvation Army spokeswoman in Arizona. "It will be a nice way for people to make a donation if they don't have that cash on hand."

Local officials hope the cashless option will grab new donors and help make up a projected $200,000 decline in donations expected locally after Target stores nationally banned bell ringers. That represents about a fifth of the $1 million raised through kettle donations in Arizona last year.

The donations are used for services including medical assistance, emergency services and food and clothing for the needy.

"We knew we were going to have a loss this year in our kettle income, so we were looking for ideas, things to do to spark the interest of the public and our donors," Gabel said.

The card swipe machines have been tried at least once before by bell ringers in Pittsburgh. The Salvation Army there offered them in 1997 but found they weren't very popular.

"There's a whole psychology to it," said Ginny Knor, a spokeswoman for the Western Pennsylvania Division of the Salvation Army, which covers about half of the state. "People would come over and look at it, then put their change in the kettle."

"We found that people like to give small donations repeatedly," she said. The Pennsylvania experiment lasted only a year.

At the introduction of the machines in downtown Phoenix Wednesday, some donors had a similar response. In the first hour, dozens of people whizzed by volunteers holding card readers and instead emptied their pockets into a giant kettle.

The card swipe machines are wireless and transmit data. They print paper receipts for tax purposes.

Gabel said to ensure security, bell ringers will be dressed in Salvation Army uniforms when the card swipe machines are in use.

"They will be people you'd feel safe running your card," she said.

The effort in Phoenix is one of many nationwide that local chapters are developing to increase Salvation Army donations, said Theresa Whitfield, a spokeswoman for the charity's headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

She noted an effort in the South to use scores of animated, cardboard bell ringers to staff kettles. The cutouts, which bear the image of a uniformed Salvation Army officer, are being used at 200 Books-A-Million and Hibbett Sporting Goods stores in 14 states.

Equipped with motion sensors, each corrugated cutout has a battery- operated, motorized arm that waves a silent cardboard bell. Anyone who draws near hears a loud, jingling sound from a speaker and "Merry Christmas, God bless you."