Last editedMar 20232 min read
While nonprofits and charitable organisations might not want to consider themselves businesses, they need to think like businesses if they want to operate successfully. Any entity that collects money online has the bones of a business and needs a good online payment processor.
For your charity, this is the infrastructure that allows you to collect donations and organise payment data. These are processes that need to be secure, convenient and as affordable as possible. Because the lower you can keep the overheads and the more secure the donations, the more money is actually going to reach the people that need it.
Choosing the right payment processor for your nonprofit is an important decision and one with many variables to consider. Here, we discuss the various options available, but first, let’s investigate exactly what makes a good payment platform for a non-profit.
Security
Collecting donations and data means you’re being trusted with something incredibly valuable. If you suffer a security breach, that trust can be irrevocably broken. When selecting a payment processing gateway, a nonprofit must ensure it is fully PCI-compliant. There are four levels of compliance, and you’ll ideally choose a gateway with level 1 compliance. This means they successfully process over 6 million transactions every year.
Integration
Integration with your existing software makes the whole process run much more smoothly. Many solutions boast existing integrations. For example, GoCardless integrates seamlessly with the Xero accounting software platform. Also ensure that your chosen platform can integrate with your fundraising tools, donor CRM and crowdfunding platforms.
Accepted payment methods
A good payment gateway processor should accept as many different currencies and payment methods as possible. This includes card payments, online banking and direct debit. Most payment gateways also offer support for various leading currencies. This is important for international businesses, as customers are more likely to want to pay in their domestic currency.
Donation receipts
When people donate to charity, they might want a receipt of their donation for their tax returns. The right payment processor for you must send receipts directly and automatically.
Best payment processors for your non-profit
For reference, we’ve collected together what we believe are some of the best payment gateway options available to Australian businesses today.
PayPal
Perhaps the most visible name on our list, PayPal is ideal for smaller nonprofits that need a quick and simple way to collect payments. PayPal is a flexible option with a donate button that can be customised to suit your needs. It’s also easy to set up a mobile card reader to collect in-person donations. However, there is a pretty substantial transaction fee, even with the non-profit discount.
2Checkout
As well as the Australian dollar, 2Checkout also supports over 45 different payment methods and boasts dozens of features along with recurring payment support. It’s also PCI-DSS compliant and offers some incredibly advanced fraud protection features such as a 3-tier defence strategy.
Donorbox
As the name suggests, this is a platform built specifically for nonprofits, and features bespoke online donation forms and a recurring donation option that can be personalised as either weekly, monthly or annually. While it’s free to set up, however, there is a 1.5% fee per donation with an added processing fee.
Authorize.Net
A digital payment processing service for SMEs, Authorize.Net is fully PCI-compliant and can be integrated easily with various ecommerce platforms. It’s an advanced solution with advanced fraud protection and support functions. There is a monthly fee to consider, alongside transaction fees.
Square
For those wanting an all-in-one package, Square offers basic CRM tools to segregate your donors, send targeted emails and receive digital feedback. The payout time is also fast, at 1–2 business days. The most obvious benefit is its integration with various POS platforms.
GoCardless
While not technically a payment gateway platform, GoCardless is a solution that allows nonprofits to send payment links in seconds and receive payments instantly, thanks to its pull-based direct debit approach to payment processing. As you are pulling directly from banks, you also don’t need to deal with the processing fees associated with other solutions.
Here to help
Join the thousands of non-profit businesses and charities using GoCardless to process their donations. Collect one-off and recurring donations with a system that’s simple to set up with flexible options, automated payment collection and easy tracking.
GoCardless is the easiest and most cost-effective solution for nonprofits and charities looking to scale.