Which Payment Processor Is Best For Your Nonprofit?
Choosing a payment processor for your nonprofit is an important task. Your payment processor will allow you to collect donations and payments from your supporters. That’s why it’s important to choose a provider that allows you to process donations securely, conveniently, and affordably.
Whether you’re looking for the first time or are considering a new one, we’ve compiled a list of payment processors that we think might be a good fit for your nonprofit. For each, we’ve included which organizations they’re best for, our favorite feature, fees, and other important components like accepted payment forms and the ability to accept transactions in person.
Make sure you understand nonprofit payment processing as you consider the best fit. With that in mind, here are five of the best payment processors for nonprofits.
Nonprofit Payment Processor Comparison
| Payment Processor | Recommended for | Favorite Feature | Payout Time | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomerang Payments | Online giving integration | Donor-paid fees | Daily, two-day delay | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Stripe | Reliability | Instant payouts | Daily, two-day delay | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| PayPal | New nonprofits | Donate button | 2-3 business days | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Square | Point-of-sale transactions | Customer engagement | 1-2 business days | 2.6% + $0.10 |
| Authorize.Net | Security | Advanced fraud detection | 0-5 business days | $25/month + $0.10 processing |
| Donorbox | Versatility | Recurring donation tools | 2-3 business days | 1.5% + processing fee |
Bloomerang Payments
Recommended for: Nonprofits that want a payment processor that integrates with their online giving tools like donate buttons, embeddable donation forms, donation pages, and text-to-give.
Favorite feature: Donor-paid transaction fees. You can give donors the option to cover the cost of the transaction fees, which saved one organization $6,000 a year.
Accepts payments from: ACH, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover, Diners Club, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Microsoft Pay.
Payout Time: Daily deposits with a two-day delay.
In-Person Transactions: You can accept donations anywhere with Kindful’s mobile friendly donation pages—no extra hardware necessary—along with other mobile payment features like text-to-give.
Fees: Transaction fees. 2.9% + $0.30 for credit and debit card transactions. 1% + $0.30 for ACH transactions. There’s no additional cost if you already have a Kindful account.
Learn More About Bloomerang Payments
Stripe
Recommended for: Nonprofits that need a standard, reliable payment processor with the option for expedited payouts.
Favorite feature: Instant payouts. With Stripe, you can send your earnings to an eligible debit card within minutes, giving you 24/7 access to your funds when your organization needs them.
Accepts payments from: ACH, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners Club, China UnionPay
Payout Time: Daily deposits with a two-day delay.
In-Person Transactions: Available with Stripe Terminal, Stripe’s credit card reader. Additional fees may apply.
Fees: Transaction fees. Pay as you go with a 2.9% + $0.30 fee for each credit and debit card transaction. Organizations with official nonprofit status are also eligible for a discounted processing fee.
Learn More About Stripe for Nonprofits
PayPal
Recommended for: Smaller and new nonprofits that need an affordable payment processor that’s optimized for online transactions.
Favorite feature: Donate button. For nonprofits that are just getting started, PayPal allows you to customize a donate button for your home page, so you can start collecting donations instantly.
Accepts payments from: PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
Payout Time: 2-3 business days.
In-Person Transactions: With PayPal, you can collect donations in person using a mobile card reader, chip and swipe reader, or chip and tap reader.
Fees: Transaction fees. 2.9% + $0.30 for each credit and debit card transaction. PayPal processing fees for nonprofits are offered at a discounted rate of 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction.
Learn More About PayPal for Nonprofits
Square
Recommended for: Nonprofits that use point-of-sale transactions to accept donations or purchases.
Favorite feature: Customer Engagement. For nonprofits that aren’t ready to invest in a donor management system, Square offers basic CRM tools that help sort your donors into groups, send targeted emails, and receive feedback through digital receipts.
Accepts payments from: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, UnionPay
Payout Time: 1-2 business days.
In-Person Transactions: Collect donations in person using Square’s credit card reader.
Fees: Transaction fees. 2.6% + $0.10 for each credit and debit card transaction.
Learn More About Square for Nonprofits
Authorize.Net
Recommended for: Nonprofits that want to invest in an advanced payment platform with advanced security features and a strong support team.
Favorite feature: Advanced Fraud Detection Suite. Keep your nonprofit safe from fraud with Authorize.Net’s security features designed to identify and prevent fraudulent transactions.
Accepts payments from: ACH, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, JCB, PayPal, Visa SRC, Apple Pay, Chase Pay, E-check
Payout Time: 0-5 business days.
In-Person Transactions: You can accept transactions in person with Authorize.Net’s free virtual point of sale service. Card reader not included.
Fees: Monthly, transaction. For both a merchant account and payment gateway, there’s a $25 monthly fee and 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fees. For only the payment gateway, there’s a $25 monthly fee, $0.10 transaction fees, and a daily batch fee of $0.10.
Learn More About Authorize.Net for Nonprofits
Donorbox
Recommended for: Nonprofits that want a donation processor that also includes fundraising tools like online donation forms.
Favorite feature: Built-in recurring donation option. When making a donation, donors can choose a one-time, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual donations. No extra steps or special forms necessary.
Accepts payments from: Credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, ACH, SEPA and iDEAL.
Payout Time: 2-3 business days.
In-Person Transactions: You can collect in-person transactions and add them later to Donorbox as offline donations. All financial totals will be updated and PDF receipts are automatically generated.
Fees: Transaction. It’s free to set up, then a 1.5% fee per online donation plus a processing fee. The processing fee is 2.9% + $0.30 for Stripe, 0.8% for ACH, and 2.2% + $0.30 for PayPal.
Choosing The Best Nonprofit Payment Processor
Your payment processor is an essential component of your overall online payment system, but it’s not the only part. We recommend that you make sure you invest in a payment processor that integrates with the rest of your online giving tools before making the final decision.
Make sure your payment processor will:
- Work on your website using a donation button, form, or page
- Integrate with your other online fundraising tools
- Integrate with your donor management platform so your transaction data stays in one place
This will ensure that you maintain trust with your donors and eliminate the hassle of importing data from your payment processor to your other systems.
Schedule a live demo with our partner Bloomerang, and we’ll show you how easy it is to create and automate reports, utilize online and offline fundraising tools, quickly integrate and access all your data, and ultimately create more time to engage your donors.