We love saving churches money!

The more money your ministry can save, the more ministry you can do. And online giving for churches is a BIG opportunity to save!

But accepting donations online does come at a cost. That cost is fees.

Here are 4 things to avoid when it comes to finding a giving tool for your ministry...

1. Avoid Giving Platforms That Don't Have ACH Giving

The most popular way to accept donations is through Debit or Credit Card. But if you run the numbers, the average church donor who gives via credit card will accumulate roughly $83.20 in fees every year (assuming an average tithe of $100 twice a month for an entire year)

Unlike credit cards, donations made with an ACH Bank Transfer do not have a percentage fee with ChurchTrac. It's just a flat rate of $0.25 for every donation.

If that same church donor gave via ACH instead of a Credit Card, the total fees for the year would only total $6.50.

How Much Could ACH Giving Save My church?

The average savings for each donor who gives through ACH instead of a credit card is $76.70/year. And that's just one donor. Imagine having a dozen of your donors switch to ACH Giving from a credit card. We're talking about saving your ministry over $900 a year in fees! Larger ministries could save THOUSANDS.

Check out the video below:

2. Avoid Giving Apps Charging You Sticker Price

2.9% plus $0.30 for each online giving transaction is the sticker price of most digital giving platforms.

But you're a church, and you should NEVER pay sticker price for any church giving software.

Why Some Church Giving Platforms Charge Sticker Price

Do you know why many church online giving platforms have an advertised sticker price of 2.9% for Credit Cards?

It's because they'll negotiate a lower rate with the merchant processor, then add their own fee to "skim off the top". This is called rev-sharing, and it's a common practice of many of the platforms out there that are built for churches and ministries.

Rev sharing is how these platforms make money. You can't fault them for that. But there are far too many online giving options out there for your ministry to be stuck paying the sticker price.

For the record, ChurchTrac makes ZERO money on online donations and has negotiated a lower rate with Stripe. Like I said, we LOVE saving churches money!

3. Avoid Giving Software With High Monthly Fees

One tactic that many church giving platforms use is a low percentage rate to reel you in. They'll advertise something like 1.9% + $0.30 for each transaction.

However, they make up for it by tacking on a huge monthly charge. We've seen some companies have the audacity to charge a monthly rate, and then tack on a substantial setup fee!

I frequently see ministries focused solely on the processing fees but not taking into account the math of what the real cost will be for that giving app. One pastor I worked with was paying over $100/month for only a dozen donors. Ouch!

4. Avoid Platforms That Charge ACH Percentage Fees

Many Online Giving companies charge churches a percentage fee for their ACH Donations.

Unfortunately, it's common to see online giving platforms for churches charge .5% to 2% for ACH.

That charge does not come from the bank or merchant processor. It's a made-up "convenience" fee taking money from your donors that should be going to your ministry. To put it into perspective, ChurchTrac has a flat $0.25 fee for ACH donations.

Pro Tip: Avoid Platforms That Don't Offer Recurring Giving

Recurring donations are the #1 easiest way to increase your online giving.

Thankfully, this giving feature is found on the most popular platforms. But it's so important that I thought it should be mentioned simply because so many churches out there use P2P apps like PayPal and CashApp that don't offer this feature (or have customization options).

ChurchTrac: A Different Online Giving Platform

ChurchTrac makes ZERO money from Online Giving. We've included Online Giving as a part of our all-in-one Church Management Software. No made-up charges or fees to extort money from you.

Start your free trial › and see why thousands of ministries and churches of all sizes love using ChurchTrac to accept online donations, track giving, and manage their ministry!

Wes Church Engagement