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Contactless Giving
Contactless giving is now common throughout our day-to-day lives, and churches can use this technology as well by having donation terminals in their buildings which people can use with their phones, debit and credit cards.
Advantages:
- Fewer people are using cash, so contactless giving provides a safe and easy way to donate to churches.
- Donations of £30 and under are eligible for Gift Aid claims under the Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme (GASDS) just like cash donations.
- Some machines allow donors to gift aid at the point of donation.
- Easier for treasurers to manage the donations as reports are easily accessible and less money handling and visits to the bank/post office are required.
- Devices can usually be secured, which allows visitors to donate to open churches at any time they can access the building.
- Can be used for events (e.g. concerts, flower festivals, and fetes) for donations and payments (depending on the device).
- Allows non-regular churchgoers (e.g. those attending baptisms, weddings) to support the church easily.
- Devices available at a variety of price points, some are securable, some do not need wi-fi or mobile signal.
What to consider
- Will the cost of buying and the running the device (some have monthly charges) be exceeded by the expected donations? If not, you should consider instead getting online giving through Sum Up and Give A Little (includes QR code) which is free to set up and only incurs a small transaction charge on each donation.
- Is your church open, in which case you will need a securable device, or will it only be used during services and events? If you use it for events, would you want to be able to take it around the church? For example the CollecTin More is securable but also portable whereas the Payaz Giving Station is too big to move around.
- Where will you site the device? It needs to be visible and accessible, preferably with a display about where the donated money goes.
- Do you have wi-fi or an adequate mobile signal to run a device? We can use one of our devices to check the signal inside the church. If you have no (poor) signal you will need to consider an offline device, most of which incur a monthly charge.
- All donations will incur transaction charges – see special rates through Parish Buying with Give A Little and Sum Up/Stripe Express.
- If you choose a device that uses Sum Up/Stripe Express and Give A Little you will also be able to set up online giving (including a QR code) through the same account, making it easier to manage donations from both sources.
- No faculty is required to introduce equipment for card payment systems if they are not fixed to historic fabric (included in list A of the Faculty Jurisdiction (Amendment) Rules 2019) but if you are not sure check with the DAC first.
Where to buy?
- Register with Parish Buying who have negotiated special packages and deals for Church of England members including free premium membership of Give A Little.
- Find current prices and transaction rates for contactless devices on Parish Buying.
Try before you buy or borrow for events
- The Parish Resources Team have three CollecTin devices and a Payaz Giving Station which you can book to borrow for an event (eg concert, fundraiser) or to try in your church to test the signal and gauge the reaction of the congregation.
- Booking is via Emma Denton. Please book well in advance as you need to have set up a Parish Buying account, registered with Give A little and either Sum Up or Stripe Express, so that the donations can go straight into your church’s bank account.
- Collection and return are usually from the Ipswich Office but we try to reduce your travel when possible.
Other advice
- Promote your online giving link and QR code in the following ways: service sheets, parish magazines, newsletters, social media platforms, email campaigns, letters to wider community, online services, A Church Near You, QR code displayed in the church.
- Integrate your Give A Little account with your 'A Church Near You' page.
Resources
- Register with Parish Buying www.parishbuying.org.uk then go to ‘Products and Services’ and then ‘Giving and Payments’ to find all the latest guides and advice (read the Help & Support section).
- Find out how to get an 'excepted charity' certificate and what to do if your church has no postcode | PDF
- QR code poster template | DOCX
For help and advice and to find out more, contact Emma Denton for a chat.
