Credit Card Payment Processing For Nonprofits: 9 Best Options, Free Processing, & More

Helcim Pricing

• $0/month
• Interchange + 0.30% + $0.08 to interchange + 0.10% + $0.05 per standard in-person transaction, with fees decreasing with processing volume
• Nonprofits get lower interchange fees than standard users

Helcim Features

Combining low interchange-plus pricing (including Visa and Mastercard’s special nonprofit interchange rates) with honest service and excellent customer support, Helcim is one of Merchant Maverick’s favorite payment processors.

Helcim’s nonprofit-friendly features include the following:

• Donate buttons
• QR code payments
• Payment links
• Mobile credit card reader (sells for $109)
• Recurring billing and membership management
• Hosted donation pages
• CRM functionality
• Invoicing
• Virtual terminal
• International payment support
• Your own merchant account

Where Helcim Really Shines For Nonprofits

Helcim gives nonprofits the tools they need to conduct fundraisers and accept payments (online, in-person, and over the phone) in the 21st century, all while keeping your costs as low as possible. While Helcim’s mobile card reader is relatively pricey — though it includes a free countertop stand — you’ll get a virtual terminal, recurring billing, CRM, and payment portal pages for no extra cost whatsoever. A specialized donation platform might charge you $100 a month to use these features.

Helcim’s payments package is an outstanding value for nonprofit organizations.

Square Pricing

• $0/month
• 2.6% + $0.10 per in-person transaction, 2.9% + $0.30 per online transaction
• Nonprofits taking in $250K+/year in donations may get a discounted rate; otherwise, nonprofits pay the standard rate

Square Features

Square’s nonprofit page details some of the benefits the company has to offer a nonprofit organization. All in all, Square’s package includes numerous features that can benefit nonprofits, almost all of which come free after signing up.

• Capture donor information in a Customer Directory
• Donation links with customizable donation goals
• Donation tracking
• Virtual terminal
• Free magstripe-only card reader
• Inexpensive ($49) chip card reader
• Hosted donation pages
• Invoicing
• QR code payments
• Square Online (website/online store builder)

Where Square Really Shines For Nonprofits

Unfortunately, Square doesn’t give nonprofits a discounted rate unless they take in more than $250K/year in donations. However, when you consider Square’s bevy of free processing, business management, payment analytics, and donor management tools — not to mention numerous integrations with other useful platforms — its nonprofit appeal becomes clearer. For larger nonprofits eligible for Square’s high-processing-volume transaction discounts, there’s even more to like.

Have a look at our guide to Square for nonprofits to learn more.

Host Merchant Services Pricing

• $14.99/month
• 1.35% + $0.05 per transaction for nonprofits

Host Merchant Services Features

Host Merchant Services offers discounted nonprofit pricing through its HMS Gives program. It also provides several features that nonprofit organizations can make use of, including:

• Virtual terminal
• Web hosting and a basic website
• Credit card terminals
• Mobile processing and card readers
• In-house Bonsai POS system
• Shopping cart integrations
• eCheck processing
• Your own merchant account

Where Host Merchant Services Really Shines For Nonprofits

Host Merchant Services combines transparent nonprofit-discounted pricing with solid features, excellent customer support, and a great reputation in the industry. Additionally, you won’t have to sign a long-term contract, and there are no early termination fees if you jump ship. While the company doesn’t publicly disclose pricing details for its credit card terminals and card readers, it’s not alone in this regard.

PaymentCloud Pricing

• Quote-based pricing — tiered and interchange-plus plans are available (get interchange-plus pricing if possible)
• No further pricing details are provided, but no nonprofit discount is offered

PaymentCloud Features

PaymentCloud is a credit card processor specializing in servicing high-risk businesses, and nonprofits are often classified as such. The company pitches itself as a nonprofit payment processing solution, offering processing services and an integrated gateway to nonprofits and businesses, though it does not provide a specific nonprofit discount.

Features include:

• Virtual terminal
• Free credit card terminal
• ACH/echeck processing
• Integrated shopping cart software
• Mobile POS integrations
• Multiple payment gateways
• QR code payments
• Recurring billing
• Your own merchant account

Note that while the credit card terminal is free, you’ll have to ship it back to the company immediately if you close your account. Otherwise, you’ll be charged for the full cost of the machine.

Where PaymentCloud Really Shines For Nonprofits

Offering such features as a virtual terminal, a shopping cart integration, and ACH/echeck processing, PaymentCloud can benefit a nonprofit (particularly those considered higher-risk) in several ways. We just wish PaymentCloud offered discounted rates for nonprofits or disclosed any pricing information on its website.

Stripe Pricing

• $0/month
• 2.2% + $0.30 online transaction fee for qualified nonprofits, 2.7% + $0.05 fee for in-person transactions
• Your organization must raise at least 80% of its funds through donations to qualify for the discounted rate

Stripe Features

Stripe is best known for its strong developer support and excellent developer tools. If your nonprofit needs a custom solution for taking donations online, Stripe’s advanced features and discounted online transaction fees may offer what you need.

Other features include:

• International support
• Recurring billing
• ACH transactions
• Numerous integrations
• Hosted payment pages (Stripe Checkout)
• Customizable donation forms
• Manage taxes, reporting, and bookkeeping
• Payment links

Where Stripe Really Shines For Nonprofits

Stripe offers many nonprofit-friendly features, but remember that you must raise at least 80% of your funds through donations to qualify for nonprofit pricing. If your organization raises more than 20% of its funds through membership fees, tuition payments, etc., it can’t qualify for this discounted rate.

Stripe lets your nonprofit create a custom website experience, accept payments on desktop and mobile devices in any currency, and generate custom reports. It is one of the best credit card processing companies for recurring billing. Some very large charities/nonprofits use Stripe, including Unicef, Oxfam, and NPR. If you go with Stripe, you’d be in good company, but you may want to read our Stripe nonprofit guide before making a final decision.

Dharma Merchant Services Pricing

• $20/month for nonprofits
• Nonprofit rates are interchange + 0.10% + $0.08 per in-person transaction, interchange + 0.10% + $0.11 per online transaction

Dharma Merchant Services Features

Dharma is a reputable merchant services provider that offers transparent interchange-plus pricing with discounted rates for nonprofits.

Dharma’s nonprofit page details its features for registered charities, and these features include:

• Donation buttons
• A virtual terminal
• Recurring billing and invoicing
• eCommerce integrations (for an additional $10/month)
• Hosted donation pages
• Customer database
• ACH processing (for a monthly fee)
• Payment links
• Mobile card reader ($149)
• Your own merchant account

Where Dharma Really Shines For Nonprofits

Dharma’s merchant services package is ideally suited to nonprofits processing over $10,000 per month. With nonprofit-discounted interchange-plus pricing, tools for accepting donations both online and in-person, and a wide array of eCommerce and POS integrations, there’s a lot to like for larger nonprofits — more than enough to compensate for the monthly fees charged for the core service and some of the add-on features.

PayPal Pricing

• $0-$30/month (depending on the payment system you use)
• 1.99% + $0.49 online transaction fee for approved nonprofits, 2.20% + $0.09 per in-person transaction

PayPal Features

PayPal has a lot of resources designed especially for nonprofits. That includes special transaction rates for 501(c)(3) charities and somewhat discounted rates for donations even if your organization is not a 501(c)(3) charity.

Featurewise, I recommend reading our PayPal nonprofit and donations guide for a full rundown, but here’s a quick summary of what you’ll get:

• Donation buttons
• QR codes
• Inexpensive mobile card reader with a PIN pad
• Virtual terminal (though you have to pay a monthly fee for it)
• Donation links (PayPal.me)
• Hosted donation pages
• Invoicing
• Countless shopping carts, POS, CRM, and accounting integrations
• Detailed reporting

Where PayPal Really Shines For Nonprofits

PayPal’s discounted nonprofit rates for online transactions include a $0.49 fixed fee, which ends up being pretty steep if you accept lots of online donations under $10 or so (though taking in-person donations cuts this fixed per-transaction fee to $0.09). We also wish you didn’t have to pay a monthly fee to use PayPal’s virtual terminal. But for most nonprofits, PayPal’s combination of discounted rates and nonprofit-friendly features and tools (both in-house and third-party) makes for a compelling package.

National Processing Pricing

• $9.95/month
• Nonprofit rates are interchange + 0.12% + $0.06 per in-person and online transaction

National Processing Features

Not only does National Processing offer some of the lowest nonprofit processing rates you’ll ever find, but the company also makes additional donations to charities, ensuring that even your processing fees end up going to a good cause.

Notable features include:

• ACH/echeck processing
• Virtual terminal
• Credit card terminals
• POS systems (both in-house and third-party)
• Mobile processing with Clover and SwipeSimple
• API integration
• Many eCommerce integrations
• Proprietary donation tracking software
• Nonprofit-focused analytics

Where National Processing Really Shines For Nonprofits

National Processing offers exceptionally low transaction fees to nonprofit organizations, along with a solid feature set and integration list. However, you’ll have to pay a monthly fee for any Clover hardware you obtain, and if you want “free” POS equipment, you’ll have to sign a long-term contract that may include an early termination fee.

Payline Data Pricing

• $10/month (fee waived for your first month)
• Interchange + 0.20% + $0.10 per transaction for nonprofits

Payline Data Features

Along with special rates for nonprofits, Payline Data offers some features a nonprofit organization will be happy to see, including:

• Donation buttons
• ACH processing
• Virtual terminal
• Hosted payment page
• Recurring billing
• Invoicing
• API and developer docs
• Credit card terminals
• Mobile processing and mobile card readers
• Shopping cart and accounting integrations

Where Payline Data Really Shines For Nonprofits

While we wish Payline Data offered more information about pricing for the terminals and card readers it sells, the company merits inclusion in our list due to its low transaction fees for nonprofits and its long list of nonprofit-friendly features and integrations.