Where Your Digital Giving Fees Actually Go

A congregation giving $600,000 a year online can pay anywhere between $9,000 and $22,000 in fees depending on choices nobody discussed in a meeting. Here is the anatomy of that gap.

The math behind the two payment rails is worked out in full in our ACH vs. card breakdown.

Three fees, not one

Interchange goes to the card networks, the processor takes a markup, and the giving platform charges either a monthly subscription or a percentage on top. Vendors quote the blended number. Ask for the split.

ACH is the lever

Moving recurring gifts from card to bank transfer is the single largest saving available to most congregations. A 1% capped ACH rate against 2.9% plus thirty cents saves roughly $11,000 on our example budget.

Nudging recurring givers to ACH is worth more than switching platforms.

On asking givers to cover the fee

Roughly two-thirds of givers opt in when the box is checked by default, and opt-in rates barely move when the language is warm rather than apologetic. Be transparent, keep the box optional, and never make it a condition of giving.

Keep reading from Church Tech Mag

• ACH vs. card: the giving fee math most churches get wrong
• Preaching generosity without sounding like a fundraising pitch
• Donor CRM showdown: five platforms, one small nonprofit