The Need for Modern Payment Processing in Catholic Churches
Challenges with Traditional Donation Methods
While traditional payment methods, such as cash and checks, have been around for a long time and there are still some who prefer these for giving, the reality is that online giving is on the rise and offers significant advantages over these traditional methods.
When using cash and checks, your church is limited in when it can receive gifts – people must be physically present in church or mail checks to you. These more old-school methods also require much more work and time from staff to collect, process and record, making them labor-intensive for churches that often have limited resources.
Benefits of Adopting Digital Payment Systems for Parishes and Parishioners
Digital payment systems offer a wide range of benefits for Catholic churches and their parishioners and are ideal nonprofit payment solutions. With online giving, churches can accept payments anytime and anywhere a person feels moved to give. Donors can also set up recurring donations, which means even if they’re on vacation or unable to attend services, the church still receives their gifts.
Donors don’t have to remember to set aside cash or bring checks with them to church when they do attend. Research has shown that recurring donors give twice as much as non-recurring donors, making them a key source of funds for church stewardship programs.
Storytelling is another key advantage of digital giving platforms. They provide a place where churches can share stories of the positive impact donations have and connect parishioners with the people helped by their gifts.
Key Features of Effective Church Payment Processing Systems
Secure Online Giving
Any time people give or provide financial information online, security is a top concern. If donors are concerned about the security and privacy of their data, this decreases the likelihood that they’ll give. Church payment processing systems that are PCI-compliant, such as Vanco Payment Solutions, are certified to meet the highest standard of security set by the major credit card companies (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, etc.). This gives parishioners confidence that when they give online to your church, their data is secure.
Integration with Church Management Software
The best church payment processing systems integrate well with a range of existing church management software and donor management software programs. These integrations make life easier for both staff and parishioners, enabling standardized information across your entire system and making it easier to track data and keep accurate records.
When choosing an online church payment processing system, it’s important to determine what integrations it offers so you can find the option that best meets your needs.
Support for Recurring Donations and Various Payment Methods
As noted above, recurring donations are a huge plus for Catholic churches of all sizes. Because recurring donors give more on average, the more you can promote this option, the better. Effective church payment processing systems also allow givers to use various payment methods so they can pick the one that works best for them.
Both of these benefits are important when it comes to setting up online giving and promoting its value to your church.
Mobile-Friendly Interfaces and Text-to-Give Options
Not every online giving platform is mobile-friendly – creating a huge edge for those that are and the churches that use them. Simply put, the screen on a phone is a different size and has different proportions than a desktop or laptop computer. If an interface isn’t designed for mobile devices, it may look different on a phone versus how it looks on a computer and potentially confuse or turn off donors. If you want donors to contribute via mobile giving, it’s vital to have a mobile-friendly platform like Vanco for them to use.
Text-to-give is another great option, as most people send dozens of texts a day to communicate and giving by text is as simple as sending any text message.
Top 5 Payment Processing Solutions for Catholic Churches
Dedicated Church Giving Platforms
Not every giving platform available to churches is designed specifically for churches. Some are more general giving apps that can be used for churches, but like trying to use a tool that isn’t quite right for a home repair project, these general payment platforms aren’t an ideal fit.
Certain church giving apps are designed and built specifically to meet the unique needs of churches. These apps include features and tools that are specific to faith organizations, providing an extra level of usability and peace of mind for users.
Vanco Payment Solutions
Vanco is a premier church giving platform focused on compelling visual storytelling and ease of use. It offers multiple payment options and reliable, 24/7 customer service along with tools including:
- eGiving services that parishioners can use on a phone, tablet or computer
- Mobile and text-to-give functions that are as simple as sending a standard text message
- Customizable giving forms
Learn more about Vanco’s online giving platform and learn how your church can use the platform to drive giving and elevate engagement among your church community.
Parish Data System (PDS)
Similar to Vanco, PDS is a platform geared toward churches. It features eGiving tools along with parish management tools, bringing two key pieces of the puzzle together for Catholic churches. Its features include:
- The ability to accept gifts 24/7 through collections that are always customizable, secure and available
- Text, mobile and online giving
- Customizable giving forms
Nondedicated Church Giving Platforms
Unlike dedicated platforms such as Vanco and PDS, nondedicated church giving platforms don’t offer the features or support teams that can help with the unique needs of a Catholic church, diocese or other faith-based organization. While they are common and familiar, those traits are offset by the frustrations and challenges church users deal with in navigating these platforms.
Venmo
Venmo is a mobile payment service established in 2009 and owned by PayPal since 2013. Originally designed as a payment network for individuals with some engaging social media features, Venmo helped friends and family members in the US transfer money to and from each other quickly and easily and see how members were interacting online. More recently, the Venmo app has evolved to allow members to pay businesses for products and services using QR codes and touchless transactions.
Venmo is one option among several peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms for sending and receiving payments, such as Zelle, Apple Pay and Cash App. Because it’s not designed for churches, drawbacks include:
- No ability to sync with essential live-streaming programs for services
- No built-in event ticketing functions for church fundraisers and events
- No integrations with church management software many ministries use to simplify and handle church operations
PayPal
PayPal stores bank account and/or credit card information to enable consumers to pay people and merchants without providing bank account or credit card information directly. PayPal is a go-between that connects people and businesses to enable money transfers for products and services plus simple payments and reimbursements. To use PayPal, individual customers set up and verify personal accounts, link them to either a bank or credit card account and make and receive payments and shop online. Customers can also deposit their salaries or payments they receive in their PayPal accounts.
Because it’s not designed specifically for churches, drawbacks include:
- Limited ability for recurring giving (monthly only)
- Limited technical support
- Few church integrations
- Expensive fees for donations via bank transfers
Cash App
Because many church members use Cash App for personal payments, it’s logical for churches to offer it to congregations to collect donations and tithes. Cash App works by connecting users on the platform and allowing payments between them. Users can make payments to other users using direct connections to their accounts or QR codes. To use Cash App, users simply download the app, set up accounts (including “$Cashtags” as unique identifiers) and link those accounts to their bank accounts. To make payments, users locate other users on the app using their account information and send or receive payments to or from those accounts.
Because it’s not designed specifically for churches, drawbacks include:
- No free giving and engagement functions that churches can use to organize private or group chats or manage directories
- No live-stream options, like video streaming of church services
- No support for online church event ticketing functions for fundraisers and other church events
- No integration with church management software
Implementing a Payment Processing System in Your Parish
Evaluating and Selecting the Right Platform
When evaluating and selecting a giving platform for your parish, there are several key factors to consider:
- Is the platform designed for churches?
- What features and tools does the platform offer?
- Is it built for churches the size of your church?
- What security features, including PCI compliance, does it offer?
By answering these questions, you can determine which platform is the best fit for your church.
Integration with Existing Church Management Systems
Because many churches have existing church management systems for maintaining membership data and information and managing church activities, such as events, it’s important to look for a giving platform that enables integrations with the software your church already uses. Without these integrations, staff will spend significantly more time on reconciliation and other admin work.
Platforms such as Vanco, ACST (which includes PDS and MinistryPlatform Catholic) and Camino come with these powerful integrations to make life easier for Catholic churches.
Training Staff and Educating Parishioners on New Donation Methods
Announcing new online donation options once or putting an announcement in the church bulletin simply isn’t enough. Like any new tool or technology, people can be slow to adapt, so educating your entire church community about these new tools and how to use them is a must. Be sure to clearly explain each option, demonstrate how to use it and offer training for staff and assistance for parishioners on how to give using each option.
Ensuring Security and Compliance
Importance of PCI Compliance in Handling Transactions
PCI compliance is vital for businesses handling credit card transactions. It helps protect cardholder data and ensure the security of payment processing. Churches are no different. PCI compliance is important for:
- Data security: PCI compliance requires merchants to implement and maintain firewalls, encryption and other essential security measures to protect cardholder information from unauthorized access.
- Fraud prevention: Organizations can reduce the likelihood of sensitive financial account information being stolen and used for fraudulent activities by following PCI guidelines.
- Customer trust: Customers and donors alike have more confidence in organizations that are PCI-compliant, allowing them to feel good about the security of their payment information.
- Legal protection: It’s not a regulatory mandate, but PCI compliance is considered mandatory through court precedent, potentially offering legal protection in case of disputes.
- Financial security: Adhering to PCI standards helps organizations avoid potential fines and penalties that could be imposed by credit card companies for noncompliance.
Best Practices for Protecting Donor Information
Here are six key practices your church can follow that will help you protect donor information:
- Implement secure data storage: Use encrypted storage systems, cloud-based solutions and strong security measures to protect donor data from unauthorized access.
- Establish data protection policies: Develop policies clearly stating how donor information is collected, stored and used, and outline data collection methods and consent mechanisms.
- Obtain informed consent: Clearly communicate with donors how their data is used and provide opt-out options.
- Use reliable church accounting software: Ensure any tools used meet proper security standards, especially data encryption.
- Implement access controls: Allow donor data access for only those individuals who need it to fulfill their responsibilities.
- Regularly update and patch systems: Ensure software is kept up to date with the latest security patches to prevent vulnerabilities.
Regular Audits and Financial Transparency Measures
Even if your church keeps good records and has all relevant financial data at hand, it’s still wise to conduct regular audits to detect any potential irregularities and address them as early as possible. Financial transparency is also essential, as it helps boost donor confidence and ensure your entire faith community stays on the same page and trusts those making financial decisions for the church. Simply expecting parishioners to trust their churches without transparency and regular audits that closely monitor financial management is a recipe for trouble.
Case Studies: Successful Adoption of Digital Payment Systems
- A California-based chapter of the Knights of Columbus that is part of the largest parish in its region was having difficulty with dues and donations. By adopting Vanco’s online giving platform, the chapter addressed those issues and established a sound financial footing.
- A New York-based church uses PDS to manage its membership, financial reporting and accounting, allowing staff to easily keep track of data and make necessary updates from anywhere, even if inclement weather prevents them from making it to the office.
- St. Alphonsus Liguori church in Chicago raised more than $63,000 in just three months by maximizing its online giving tools, including integrating live-streaming services into its efforts.
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