Options for Nonprofit Credit Card Processing

Last Updated on December 6, 2022 by Ryleigh Stangness

Running a non-profit or registered charity is no easy feat- but payments can be.

Cash donations are easy to accept; however, many people today only carry a credit or debit card. On top of that, local donations are only a piece of the fundraising pie. By accepting donations online, your organization has access to many more potentially generous donors.

You have seen the "Donate" button on other websites, but how can your organization add this functionality to your fundraising tools and use the donate button to help you raise money for your cause? It isn't as easy as adding the button to your nonprofit's website.

To ensure the organization can provide as much as possible to those in need, the business must streamline as many expenses as possible.

Accepting cash only donations might seem like an easy way to cut the cost of credit card processing from nonprofit businesses, but it would most likely reduce the number of donations the organization receives. Being able to accept credit cards and online donations makes it easier and more convenient for individuals to donate.

Luckily, there are solutions that help reduce the amount that nonprofits pay for credit card processing services. Helcim offers affordable credit card processing rates to all registered charities- our affordable pricing combined with flexible tools makes it easy for your organization to accept donations however your patrons want to support you.

The ultimate guide to accepting credit cards.

Discover essential knowledge and industry insights to increase your bottom line.

Who qualifies for charity rates?

Charity rates are only applicable to registered charities.
They do not apply to non-profits.
Registered charities are determined by the card brand networks
To qualify for charity interchange rates, a charity or social service organizations must fall under the merchant category code (MCC) 8398.

Charity Interchange Rates

If you are a charity and you know your merchant category code is 8398, then you will likely qualify for the rates below. These rates come from the card brands who will lower their interchange fees (again based on the MCC code) for credit card transactions processed by those charities.

Visa Canada 0.98% to 2.00%

MC Canada 0.92% to 1.80%

Visa US 0.65% + $0.15 to 1.35% + $0.05

MC US 1.45% + $0.15 to 2.00% +$0.10

Ways non-profits can accept credit card donations

Online Donations

Today, many fundraising campaigns include an online component. If your nonprofit is looking to accept online payments, then the organization will need a credit card processor to provide an online payment gateway and add a 'donate' button to your website. https://www.helcim.com/online-checkout/ makes it easy to add payment pages or use the Helcim.js technology to create your website's donate button and encourage online donations as part of your fundraising campaign. There is no need to worry about protecting donor information and credit card details, Helcim's secure card vault protect their information for you.

In-Person or On-the-Phone

Helcim is here to support your business whether you are accepting payments online, in person, or on the phone. For non-profit merchants looking to accept payments over the phone, they can easily use the Helcim Virtual Terminal to key-in card details. All you need to do is take the credit card information from the donor and type it into the terminal. You'll automatically know if the payment is authorized, and with 1-2-day deposits, there's no more waiting for cheques to clear. You can also use flexible payment solutions, like the Helcim Card Reader, that allows you to accept payments on the go, and in-person.

Recurring Donations

Finally, if your charity has clients who have set up recurring monthly donations, we have a subscription management system that simplifies the process of setting up monthly payments. The recurring payment manager will allow the organization to track how many donors are currently contributing monthly, automate the payment reminders and notices, and flag if a donor's credit card may be expiring soon.

Make donations to your non-profit even easier with Helcim

Visa and Mastercard offer special interchange categories for registered charities. Thanks to our interchange plus pricing, Helcim merchants get access to these heavily discounted rates. Every Helcim account also includes access to a robust suite of tools that can help to make collecting donations easier, whether you're looking to do some online fundraising, create a donation page, or add a donation widget to your website, Helcim can help.