We use cookies to improve your experience on our platform. By clicking “Accept all cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies required for basic website functionality.
Cookies used to deliver content most relevant to you and your needs.
Cookies used to deliver content most relevant to you and your needs.
Cookies that help understand the performance of the website, how users interact with it and to identify bugs.
How is Zeffy free?
How is Zeffy free?
Zeffy relies entirely on optional contributions from donors. At the payment confirmation step - we ask donors to leave an optional contribution to Zeffy.
A payment processor acts as the intermediary, facilitating the transfer of funds from donors' accounts into your organization's account. With the increasing shift towards digital transactions, selecting suitable credit card processors has become a critical decision for nonprofit organizations.
In this article, we have curated a list of the best tools available, including free payment processing options specifically tailored to the unique needs of nonprofits.
Our Top Picks: Nonprofit Payment Processing Solutions
A payment processor is a solution that facilitates online payments between nonprofits and their donors with debit cards, credit cards, or through digital wallet payments. It serves as a mediator between merchants, donors, and the financial institutions involved.
Once a donor initiates online payments, the transaction details are encrypted and shared with the processor. The payment processor software sends these details to the donor's bank and requests authorization for the transaction.
After the bank ensures the donors have enough funds, it approves the transaction. The payment processor then transfers the funds from the donor account to the nonprofit's account.
How Do You Find the Best Credit Card Processing for Nonprofits?
Finding a cost-effective solution is essential so you can understand if any fees will be reduced from your overall income or donations. The more you pay in transaction or platform fees, the less you can directly contribute to your mission.
Finding the right payment processor for your nonprofit will depend on your fundraising strategy, budget, and the features that matter most as you envision your future goals. You’ll want a solution that grows with you, and this guide will help you compare the best options side by side, as well as prepare you to discuss them with potential providers.
Top Features of Nonprofit Payment Processors to Ask About
Cost & Fees
Are there any transaction or payment processing fees? If so, are nonprofit discounts available?
Do you charge monthly, setup, or hidden fees?
Can donor tips cover processing fees on donation pages?
Can you explain your pricing structure clearly and transparently?
Donation Options
What payment methods do you accept (credit, debit, ACH, PayPal, digital wallets)?
How are international payments handled?
Is it easy for donors to give on mobile devices?
Donor Experience & Donation Process
Can we brand and customize the donation forms to match our nonprofit?
Can donors easily set up recurring donations for donor retention?
Do you automatically send tax receipts after donations?
Tools to Help Raise Funds
Do you offer tools for fundraising events, ticket sales, or registrations?
Can we create peer-to-peer fundraising pages or campaigns?
Can we accept donations in person or at events using a point-of-sale (POS) system or mobile readers?
Security & Compliance
Are you PCI-compliant, and how do you protect donor data and payment info?
What fraud protection and chargeback prevention measures are in place to safeguard against unauthorized transactions?
How do you ensure donor privacy and data security?
Reporting & Management
Will we have access to real-time donation tracking and dashboards?
Do you offer automated or custom reporting features or a donor database?
Can we easily export donor and payment data?
Best Payment Processing Tools for Nonprofits
Top 8 Payment Processing Software for Nonprofits
Software
Standout Feature
Payout Time
Pricing
Zeffy
100% free - we cover all the fees for nonprofits, and even cover transaction fees.
Weekly or monthly
100% Free
Stripe
Flexible and versatile with a wide range of tools and plugins
2 days
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Payline
A wide selection of POS (point-of-sale) systems to address unique needs
Next day
$10 monthly fee + 10 ¢ transaction fee
Helcim
Automatic discounts on high-volume transactions
3-4 days
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
Square
Free mobile card e-reader
1-2 business days
Flat rate processing fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Connects offline and online payments on a single platform
2 days
Fixed processing fee (US: $0.13) according to location + a fee determined by the payment method
HubSpot Payments
Accept payments using links invoices quotes meetings and forms
2 days for credit cards and three days for ACH (automated clearing house)
Processing fee of 2.9% for credit card transactions and 0.5% for ACH payments
1. Zeffy: Best Free Payment Processing Software for Nonprofits
Capterra: 4.8
G2: 4.9
Best For: Any nonprofit prioritizing cost savings and features built for fundraising.
Zeffy Nonprofit Payment Processing Platform
Why Should You Consider It?
Why Should You Avoid It?
Zeffy covers all transaction and processing fees ensuring that 100% of every donation goes directly to the nonprofit.
Accepts payments via debit and credit cards, ACH transfers, and mobile payment solutions like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Automatically generates and sends tax receipts to donors.
Supports everything you need for online fundraising.
Available to nonprofits in the US and Canada only.
Because Zeffy is 100% free (including transaction fees), small and mid-sized nonprofits can keep every dollar donated.
Zeffy accepts online payments from debit and credit cards worldwide, as well as ACH, bank transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and checks. With its 100% free model and commitment to nonprofit success, Zeffy is the ideal partner for organizations seeking to maximize the impact of every donation.
In addition to payment processing, Zeffy offers a range of features designed to simplify fundraising for nonprofits, such as:
“We are a small not-for-profit start-up organization that was having problems raising money online. We were limited in how donors could send us money and the processing fees were costly. We found Zeffy easy to use and extremely donor-friendly. Zeffy delivers a tax-ready receipt to donors immediately. The software has allowed us to collect donations for multiple fundraising campaigns.” - Ronald W
Charges per transaction, unlike Zeffy, which covers the transaction fee and is 100% free.
Limited options for in-person transactions.
Stripe is a well-known and widely recognized payment processing software that enables you to accept payments through an e-commerce platform, website, or from most online sources.
Stripe is ideal if your team loves data, works across multiple countries, or customizes donor journeys with platforms like Salesforce. The solution integrates your donor's payment methods and your nonprofit’s bank account.
You can integrate Stripe with any platform you're using, with no code, and create your custom point of sale. It accepts payment in 135 currencies and offers a variety of extensions, including prospect management, analytics, and tax calculation tools.
It offers eligible nonprofits that process 80% or more of their donations on the platform a discounted fee of 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction. Otherwise, a 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction fee applies.
“I like that Stripe integrates with many, many platforms. Whether it's databases or crowdfunding sites, Stripe is accepted in a lot of places, which has been so helpful for us. I also think it has really accurate reporting and is heavily detail-oriented.” - Rachel D.
3. Payline Data: Best for Multiplatform Payment Needs
Capterra: 5
G2: 4.6
Best For: Nonprofits with in-person and online donation needs (e.g., museums, schools, or hybrid event hosts).
Payline Data Nonprofit Payment Processing Platform
Why Should You Consider It?
Why Should You Avoid It?
Direct integrations with POS systems, popular shopping carts, and some versions of QuickBooks.
Offers diverse POS options to address specific needs.
Open-faced APIs for tailored integrations to both third-party and native software.
Initial setup needs familiarization with integrations and services.
Hardware integration may demand additional investment and setup.
Pricing models can be challenging to understand.
Payline Data is another online payment software for nonprofits, especially those in the education sector. If you’re running a nonprofit museum, school, or community center and need a single place to manage ticketing, POS purchases, and donations, Payline’s custom POS integrations help you collect and track everything easily.
The POS system options are tailored to your specific operational needs. Organizations can customize their payment processing setup to meet their unique requirements with choices such as Oracle MICROS, Clover, and NCR Aloha Cloud.
Its Virtual Terminal functionality optimizes cash flow by accepting online payments and transferring the funds the next day. The Virtual Terminal and dashboard provide a central location to manage various payment-related tasks, including viewing reports, storing profiles, and sending invoices.
Pricing:
A monthly fee of $10 applies, with additional transaction fees including:
Swiped Debit Card: .25%
Keyed Debit Card: .25%
Swiped Credit Card: 1.71%
Keyed Credit Card: 1.9%
Virtual Terminal: $10
“Payline helps our accounting team balance financial reports by managing transactions such as payments and refunds. It's a straightforward method to manage all of our purchases and sales within a single app.” - Arindam B.
Best For: Nonprofits with steady, high-volume donations.
Helcim Nonprofit Payment Processing Platform
Why Should You Consider It?
Why Should You Avoid It?
No monthly subscription fees, PCI compliance fees, setup fees, or cancellation fees.
Comes integrated with e-commerce solutions.
Issues payment reminders.
Hardware is available at extra cost.
Not a good option for nonprofits with low-volume transactions.
No same-day deposit options available.
Helcim is the best credit card payment processor for accepting both offline and online donations. Its POS hardware enables you to receive funds in person, while its hosted payments page and gateway options facilitate online transactions.
It also accepts donations from ACH, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. The platform offers additional features, including generating QR codes, building a hosted nonprofit online store, and creating and sharing invoices.
Pricing:
Helcim offers competitive credit card processing rates to select qualified charities. These are:
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
“Helcim helped our not-for-profit with efficiencies. We had no issues at all with our service. Helcim helped our not-for-profit with efficiencies.” - James V
Best For: Event-based nonprofits, those with thrift stores or mobile booths (e.g., animal shelters, churches, or food banks).
Square Nonprofit Payment Processing Platform
Why Should You Consider It?
Why Should You Avoid It?
Easy combination of online and in-person sales.
Simple credit card processing for nonprofits
Includes a basic CRM and website builder.
Affordable POS hardware.
APIs to create a customizable and secure payment gateway.
The first mobile device card reader is free, but additional ones are charged at $10.
It charges 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction.
Lack of ACH payment processing.
Square is best known for its POS solution, which enables you to accept payments in person with ease. You can download the Square POS app on your phone or select from a range of robust hardware options.
It even comes with a tap-to-pay solution that helps accept payments through contactless cards and digital wallets on iPhone and Android during events.
Besides offering payment services, Square comes with basic CRM (customer relationship management) tools that help to segment your supporters into groups, send targeted emails, and receive feedback through digital receipts.
The processing fee is 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction for nonprofits.
“The payments always go through, and Square Payments has a very clean-looking interface. It has good functionality and is mostly reliable.” - Anonymous
6. PayPal: Payment Processing Software for Nonprofits
Capterra: 4.7
G2: 4.4
Best For: Small to mid-sized nonprofits seeking donor familiarity and seamless integration with websites or crowdfunding tools.
PayPal Nonprofit Payment Processing Platform
Why Should You Consider It?
Why Should You Avoid It?
Strong global recognition boosts donor trust.
Extremely simple to use for you and your donors.
Seamlessly integrates with multiple platforms.
Excellent customer service support post-sales.
PayPal charges 1.99% + $0.49 per transaction.
Lacks advanced fundraising tools like event management and peer-to-peer fundraising that are essential for more comprehensive nonprofit operations.
While support is available, it is not specifically tailored to the unique needs of nonprofits.
For nonprofits seeking a reliable and easily accessible payment processor to accept donations, PayPal is a great option. It's designed to be easy for first-time users.
PayPal uses its merchant account to process transactions for nonprofits. It enables you to collect donations online and in person using a mobile card reader, chip and swipe reader, or chip and tap reader.
PayPal even allows you to add and customize a donation button on your website, enabling your donors to make contributions via credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal payments without needing to create an account on the platform.
“The ease of integrating with any website, no matter what platform it is designed on. You can quickly parameterize all the elements related to this payment method. It is used at the same level as other payment methods and this gives confidence. It is a secure platform, it does not generate errors, on the user's side or on the programmer's or administrator's side.” - Ivan B.
To begin your confirmation process, visit the charities page on the PayPal platform. You'll need to offer information to prove:
Your nonprofit is legally registered with the necessary regulatory body.
You are a representative of that nonprofit.
7. Adyen: Best Omnichannel Payment Processing System
Capterra: 4.8
G2: 3.3
Best For: Large, international nonprofits needing an all-in-one platform across online, mobile, and in-person channels.
Adyen Nonprofit Payment Processing Platform
Why Should You Consider It?
Why Should You Avoid It?
Insightful reports for conducting great analysis.
Customer service is very friendly and responsive.
It makes it easy to manage payments with a single platform.
Accepts multiple currencies and payment methods.
It may be pricey for new and small nonprofits.
Integrating it with other platforms might take time.
Adyen is an omnichannel payment processor, meaning it can manage transactions across multiple channels, including smartphones, in-person, and any other means, all on a single platform. Its payment services comprise a payment gateway for online payments, point-of-sale systems for in-person transactions, and integration for in-app or mobile payments.
The platform offers insights into your transaction history. You can check balances, reconcile payments, and more for each payment service linked to the merchant account.
Pricing:
A fixed processing fee ($0.13 for the US) + a fee determined by the payment method
“Adyen has helped us to offer our products to clients in different markets with the payment method of their choice and to manage our transaction from just one platform in a very easy and organized way.” - Anonymous
Best For: Nonprofits already using HubSpot for CRM and marketing automation.
HubSpot Payment Processing Platform
Why Should You Consider It?
Why Should You Avoid It?
Offers embeddable payment links to add to your website or donation forms.
Automated invoice generation, payment reminders, payment processing, and reconciliation.
Real-time visibility into the status of invoices, pending payments, and cash inflows.
Available only to organizations in the USA with a US bank account and using a paid version of HubSpot.
No customization capabilities.
Doesn’t allow for donation creation.
HubSpot Payments is a comprehensive payment processor integrated directly into the HubSpot platform. It allows you to collect one-time or recurring payments through payment links, invoices, forms, and quotes.
When someone makes a payment, you will receive a notification in your email. The platform, integrated with automation and reporting tools, will automatically generate transaction records, making it simple to manage and track your payment activity.
The solution also integrates with your existing payment gateway.
Pricing:
HubSpot offers a 40% discount to eligible nonprofits. HubSpot Payments has credit card processing fees of 2.9% for credit card transactions and 0.5% for ACH payments (capped at $10).
“There are so many useful tools, and they are all incredibly intuitive. Using automated workflows, our organization has significantly improved engagement and nurturing while curbing labor. HubSpot's customer support is also amazingly responsive and helpful.” - Pete G
Choosing the Best Donation Platforms for Nonprofits
While all these payment processing solutions are solid choices for letting donors pay securely and conveniently, remember to choose the one that's right for your nonprofit.
Explore your options and select a straightforward, effective, and cost-efficient payment solution that suits your needs.
When it comes to selecting a payment processing platform for your nonprofit, Zeffy stands out as an exceptional choice. With its comprehensive set of features, including support for both online and offline transactions, multiple payment methods, automated tax receipts, and 100% free processing, Zeffy empowers nonprofits to maximize their fundraising potential.
Zeffy accepts credit cards and CVV debit cards for all payments up to $4,999.
Zeffy partners with Stripe, a leading online payment processor, to facilitate payments for nonprofits. Stripe is a backend payment processor on the platform, but it is 100% free with Zeffy. This means you don't have to pay any of the costs usually associated with the Stripe platform when using Zeffy.
With voluntary donations, Zeffy can offer nonprofits a 100% free fundraising platform. At the confirmation step of processing payments, donors have the choice (but are never obliged) to contribute to the platform.
A payment processor handles the technical side of moving money between your donor’s bank and your nonprofit’s bank. A payment gateway is the technology that securely collects and encrypts your donor’s payment information online. Many companies, such as Stripe, PayPal, and Square, offer both a gateway and a processor in one package, so nonprofits often don’t have to manage them separately.
Zeffy is the only free payment processor for nonprofits. Every online transaction incurs unavoidable costs, such as credit card network fees.
Some processors offer discounted rates for nonprofits or options for donors to cover the fees, thereby lowering costs. Zeffy makes money exclusively from optional tips from your donors, so you never have to worry about fees taking away from your fundraising totals.
Most payment processors charge a transaction fee, typically around 2.2% to 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation. Some platforms offer lower nonprofit rates.
You may also encounter monthly fees for additional features, such as event ticketing, fundraising tools, or reporting dashboards.
Nonprofits can accept credit card donations online by using various payment platforms designed to handle donations securely. These platforms integrate with a nonprofit's website or online donation page, allowing donors to contribute using their credit cards. Some popular methods include:
Donation forms: Many nonprofits integrate donation forms directly on their websites that connect with payment processors to handle transactions.
Payment gateways: Nonprofits utilize payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, or Square to process credit card payments.
Yes, nonprofits can utilize regular payment processors like Stripe and PayPal to accept donations, and both platforms offer specialized features tailored to nonprofits. Both options provide nonprofit-friendly features, including automatic receipts, donation tracking, and integration with accounting software.
It is important to keep in mind the fees that these platforms charge:
Stripe: 2.2% + 30¢ per donation
PayPal: 2.2% + 30¢ per donation
For nonprofits hosting events, the best payment processors are those that can efficiently handle both donations and ticket sales. Each platform offers different features, so nonprofits should choose one based on their specific needs, such as ease of use, fee structures, and the type of events they're hosting.
Zeffy can support events and all other fundraising activities without charging fees, making it an excellent option for nonprofits.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Keep reading :
Nonprofit software
8 Best Payment Gateways for Nonprofits in 2025 (Free and Paid)
Find a reliable payment gateway for your nonprofit in 2025 with this list of the top 8 options, including free and paid solutions for easy online donations.
