{"id":3600,"date":"2024-01-11T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expenseplus.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3600"},"modified":"2025-12-09T16:03:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T16:03:56","slug":"best-contactless-card-readers-for-churches-and-charities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expenseplus.co.uk\/fund-accounting\/best-contactless-card-readers-for-churches-and-charities\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Contactless Card Readers for Churches and Charities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the world of church and charity finances, there is a growing trend of away from cash donations toward giving via cashless methods instead. For example, via a contactless card reader.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your church is anything like mine, your established donors probably already give via standing order, or moved to that donation method during lockdown. However, in an increasingly cashless society, how can we encourage those who are not yet giving to start their giving journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A world without cash<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was the question I asked myself as we noticed our cash offering basket donations dwindling; How do we encourage new donors to give when they don\u2019t carry cash anymore?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since people typically don\u2019t begin giving by setting up a standing order or Direct Debit, but rather through one-off donations, it is crucial to have a contactless card reader if we want to see future donor growth and not miss out on one-off donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog post, I’ll explore and compare some of the popular options I looked at when researching which card donation device to select for my church. I will compare the hardware, features, and costs of four different devices so you can make an informed decision about which option is best for your church or charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about using a simple contactless card reader?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whilst you could just purchase a relatively cheap SumUp, Stripe or Square contactless card reader for as little as \u00a320 to \u00a330 and use this to accept card donations, this is unlikely to be the best option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst these simple devices enable you to take card payments, you won’t know which donor gave the money or what their donation was for. This creates multiple issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purpose of donation: <\/strong>Firstly, without the ability to track whether the donation was given for a specific purpose or not, there is little way of knowing whether it is a restricted gift, and if so which fund to allocate it to. Furthermore if the card reader is also used for other purposes (e.g. sales of sweets, event tickets etc.) there won’t even be certainty as to whether the income relates to a donation or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No donor name: <\/strong>Secondly, you won’t have visibility as to which donor gave the donation. One of the great things about using an option from one of the providers covered in this blog is that you will not only have visibility of who has given and how much they have given, but if you use accounting software like ExpensePlus<\/a>, this will all link up, and within your donation report and donor statements you will be able to see visibility of all donor donations regardless of whether these are via bank transfer, standing order, direct debit, card, cash or another donation method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Gift Aid: <\/strong>Thirdly, although you will ‘save money’ on upfront hardware costs and transaction fees using a simple card reader, you’re likely to be losing money overall. Providers like ColletTin, Payas, Dona and GiveStar offer the option for donors to Gift Aid as part of the donation process when giving via card, which will enable you to claim an additional 25% on top of the donation amount back from the government (which typically far outweighs any ‘saving’ of just purchasing a cheap card reader to accept donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Limited use: <\/strong>Finally, a SumUp, Stripe or Square card reader sitting on a table is unlikely to have the same impact as a touch screen donation kiosk. A kiosk solution can be switched on and left unattended, allowing donors to use it when they choose to do so. This is typically not the case with a card reader, which typically automatically goes into standby mode when not in use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst just purchasing a simple contactless card reader is cheaper than the options listed below, the amount of donations will be lower and you’ll be missing out on Gift Aid. Therefore, overall it’s unlikely to prove to be a good option for most churches and charities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the options for contactless card readers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When searching for solutions to accept card donations, it’s important to understand that it will likely involve a combination of custom hardware, off-the-shelf hardware, and various third-party software and payment processors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Providers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many companies available, but for the purpose of this blog, I will limit myself to these four popular options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/td>CollecTin<\/strong> – Their strap line is \u2018Giving made simple\u2019. They say \u201cWe designed CollecTin\u00ae to be as easy to use as possible, so you can concentrate on reaching your supporters, and we can take care of the technology that makes it all happen\u201d. Offering a range of small to medium sized devices, they are one of the more cost-effective options. https:\/\/collectin.com\/<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
\"\"<\/td>Payaz<\/strong> – \u201cIncrease charitable income through the use of technology\u201d is the simple remit Payaz have given themselves. With a number of different hardware solutions available, from handheld to permanent installations, they are one of the more expensive options we\u2019ll look at.
https:\/\/www.payaz.com\/<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
\"\"<\/td>Dona<\/strong> – Dona is a specialist technology consultancy based in London that partners with charitable organisations. They keep things simple, offering a single donation device, but their solution is currently the most expensive option on this list. https:\/\/donadonations.com\/<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
\"\"<\/td>GiveStar<\/strong> – Unlike other providers, GiveStar approaches the problem slightly differently by offering devices that are the size of a smartphone. This has a number of advantages, the biggest being they are the cheapest in the comparison table below. https:\/\/givestar.io\/forcharities<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Hardware<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, a solution includes three hardware components bundled together. These three elements are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n