We live in a time where technology is rapidly advancing. More and more people are using this technology to make things easier and quicker. As an example, people are no longer using cash and instead are starting to make the majority of their donations with debit or credit cards. Many church members follow this same approach. People are more accustomed to making purchases or payments by using their credit cards and they enjoy the rewards that using their cards brings.
A lot of people are also more likely to carry credit, debit and ATM cards more than a checkbook or large amounts of cash. A credit card is also more helpful in special need or emergency situations compared to check or cash. Many are also more comfortable making non-anticipated purchases (or donations) on a debit or credit card than by check or cash. Paying with credit or debit cards also gives people the flexibility to pay for things they may not have the cash in their pocket for.
A common occurrence of this is at church and religious organizations. Many times people want to contribute but simply don’t have the cash in their pocket to put into the collection plate. Or they may want to contribute more than what they have in cash. That’s where accepting debit and credit card contributions comes in. By giving members the ability to make donations using their debit or credit cards you are giving them more flexibility, more access, and making it easier for them to contribute.
In religious organizations that have started utilizing credit card contributions, an increase in donations was noticed beyond what they had been getting. Churches are also appreciating the accounting ease of accepting credit cards. Instead of spending many hours opening envelopes, counting cash, and entering data, they can refocus many of those hours for volunteer work or other useful projects.
Another added benefit is that when people are signed up for donations through their credit or debit card, people commit to giving every week and are less likely to donating less on weeks they have less cash in their pockets. This is called ‘Recurring Donations’ or Automatic Donations’.
How does it work? It is a very easy process to start allowing your members to make donations with their credit or debit card. In order to use an "Automatic Donations" option you will need to have an "Internet Gateway" processing option. The gateway of choice for this is DowCommerce. It has a built in recurring billing feature. There is not a setup charge for the Online Gateway, and the Automatic Billing option is included at no additional cost to churches and religious organizations.
If you have a website you can even allow your members to sign up online or you can sign them up as well. When they sign up they can decide how much to contribute and how often. It will automatically come out of their credit or debit card account.
You setup a recurring plan and the internet gateway will then generate the code that you can place on your website. From there, just direct your members to visit your site to sign up for the "Automatic Donations" program. Their first donation happens right away, and then it will be automatic based up on the plan they signed up for. Each week or month they will receive an automatic "receipt" email showing their transaction.
You could also have your members sign a "Recurring Tithing" authorization form. You will then manually enter their information into the online system. Once they are in the system, everything will be totally automatic.
It’s time to setup ‘Automatic Donations’. Don’t keep missing out on potential revenue when there are options that can help you.
This article was written by Todd Nelson, Marketing Director for Capital Merchant Solutions, Inc (www.holyprocessing.com). CMS has been in the merchant account business for nearly 10 years, and offers free merchant accounts to both online and retail businesses. This article may be republished as long as absolutely no changes are made, and the resource box is included. Copyright 2007 – Capital merchant Solutions, Inc. – All rights reserved.
- Todd Nelson
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