Top 4 Payment Gateways for NPO’s

If your non-profit wants to start accepting online and mobile donations, you need to have a secure payment gateway.

With so many options, choosing the right payment gateway for your NPO can be a daunting task.

To make the selection process less intimidating, we have chosen the top four payment gateways which can help you start accepting online donations quickly and easily.

1.PayPal

PayPal is a versatile payment gateway that accepts payments via a registered PayPal account, as well as via debit and credit cards. It is PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant and allows nonprofits to securely process donations very quickly.

Paypal is widely popular and displaying the icon on your website donation page will help add legitimacy. Given the widespread use of this payment gateway, many donors may already have a PayPal account which will allow you to cut down the donation steps.

Features

• Users can send, receive and deposit money in over 25 currencies
• Security key to prevent fraud
• Protection of personal information
• Create and manage invoices for free
• iOS and Android apps available
• With some HTML knowledge, you can gather donor information

Pricing

For 501(c)(3) charities, PayPal offers 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction. There is no monthly fee and no extra charges for setup, statements, withdrawals or cancellation.

Pros

• Easy to set up
• Mobile friendly
• Transparent pricing with no hidden charges
• Shopping cart integration
• Create and send invoices right through your account

Cons

• Risk of account holds, freezes, and terminations
• Difficult to contact customer service
• High transaction processing charges

2. Stripe

You can also build your own custom payment checkout directly from the website as Stripe provides free access to their API flow for web and mobile. It is a major perk for NPO’s that don’t want to redirect users to a third-party website for payment processing.

Features

Stripe does payment processing for businesses, profit entities, and even non-profits. It offers 100+ features and comes with a complete toolkit that is built for developers.

• Accepts majority of debit/credit cards in over 100+ currencies
• Includes toolkit for developers
• Plugin and other integrations
• User-friendly dashboard

Also, if you like to learn more about how Stripe can be beneficial for NPO’ s, checkout this blog.

Pricing

If you have a 501(c)(3) status, pricing is as follows – 2.2% + 30¢ for non-AmEx transactions and 3.5% for AmEx transactions. For more details you can send an email to nonprofit@stripe.com.

Pros

• No setup or monthly fees
• Transparent pricing system
• Blocks fraud payments
• Ability to create custom fraudulent transaction detection rules

Cons

• No telephone support
• 3D secure implementation needs development work
• Fees are paid on per transaction basis

3. Authorize.net

Authorize.net is one of the oldest online payment gateways, which has been around since 1996. It accepts debit and credit card payments and deposits funds automatically into the merchant bank.

Information management enables to store customers’ payment information on Authorize.net’s secure servers. This will be quite useful for customers who want to donate on a recurring basis.

Features

• Email and phone payment
• Free fraud detection tools
• Management of recurring and subscription-based transactions

Pricing

• All-in-one option, monthly gateway $25 and per transaction 2.9% + 30¢
• Payment gateway only, monthly gateway $25, and per transaction 10¢, daily batch fee 10¢
• For enterprise solution, you have to contact Authorize.net

Pros

• Supports multiple payment methods and currencies
• Great security and fraud detection program (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)
• Monthly billing
• Easy to find a recent transaction

Cons

• Some may find pricing to be expensive
• Difficult to download transaction history
• Need merchant account to access this gateway

4. 2Checkout

2Checkout is an all-integrated payment gateway that accepts payments from any device. It provides localized customization options through which the platform can be customized as per language and currency.

The payment gateway provides two checkout options; Standard – displays the page according to the customer’s device, Inline – provides the benefits of a hosted checkout solution. It also offers integration with major online shopping carts and invoicing systems including Shopify, Magento, and WP e-Commerce and others.

Features

• Up to 87 currencies and 15 languages support
• Level 1 PCI data security
• Recurring billing options
• Seamless API interface
• Advanced fraud protection

Pricing

Rates are mentioned country wise. Click here to know more.

Pros

• No monthly fees
• Low transaction fees
• International payments
• Many developer tools
• Easy checkout interface

Cons

• May involve account stability issues
• Once the account is closed, funds may be withheld for 90 days
• Sometime terminates accounts without notice

Which payment gateway is convenient?

Winner – tie

These are the four popular payment gateways which have their own advantages and disadvantages.

If you have developing experience or have a developer on your payroll, Stripe is a better choice. If you’re not a developer, PayPal is more suitable. For targeting a mobile-friendly payment gateway, Authorize.net will be enough. If your NPO receives only a few thousand dollars every month, you should consider 2Checkout.

Ultimately, it boils down to the feature you’re looking for.