An honesty box is a method of charging for a service such as admission or car parking, or for a product such as home-grown produce and flowers, which relies upon each visitor paying at a box using the

honor system An honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. Something that operates under the rule of the "honor system" is usually something that does not have strictly enfo ...

. Tickets are not issued and such sites are usually unattended. When used in camping sites and other

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

settings, they are sometimes referred to as an iron ranger as there is often an iron cash box instead of an actual

park ranger A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Description "Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in thi ...

. Some stores also use them for selling newspapers to avoid lines at a

cash register A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a drawer for storing cash and other v ...

. Such boxes are typically used in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

areas where the low number of customers and other visitors, along with the low quantity or value of the products on offer, means that an attendant would not bring a positive return on investment. Many are also domestically run operations where attendance is not feasible. The Cake Fridge, an honesty box cake fridge in Bixter, Shetland, Scotland, features in the TV adaptation of Anne Cleeves novels. The use of honesty boxes saw a resurgence during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, because purchases can be made without contact.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honesty Box Honor Payment systems Rural culture Retail formats

See also

References