Picking a payment processor can be a daunting task - so many to choose from, with so many pros and cons, and those fees!! While this is ultimately a decision that your organization will need to make, here are some popular questions and considerations we've shared with our clients.
Why is Stripe so popular when it has the highest fees?
Here are some of the top reasons folks go with Stripe that we have seen:
Supports all payment methods. Having credit card, ACH and digital wallets all under the same processor makes things simpler for you to manage.
Name recognition. People are more comfortable using something they are familiar with.
Ease of use. The interface is very easy to use, support is great and integrates with a lot of other platforms. So, for example, if you use multiple platforms (such as one for donations, one for P2P, and one for eCommerce), it is likely that Stripe is also supported there so you can have all transactions go through one account.
Apple Pay and Google Pay?
We typically recommend folks implement these if they are available, as it makes the donation process easier, which is the number 1 barrier to online donations. It also helps you attract younger, new donors, and giving donors options is appealing to meet them where they are. At a minimum, we’d recommend having PayPal as an alternative option to credit cards. Here are a few articles about this topic as well:
Option to Pay Fees
This is becoming more and more of the norm when it comes to online donations. Folks want their donation to go to the mission as much as possible, so when presented with the option to cover these, they do! Here are some articles to read to see they types of questions to ask when considering this, as well as some stats: