Contactless Giving

As a result of Covid and a general decline in the use of cash over the last decade, fewer people now carry cash with them and those who do, carry less. Churches, who have relied on cash donations at services, events and tourist visits now find themselves needing to adapt if they are to have the right set of tools to maximise the opportunity for people to donate. Most people who attend churches come with a level of expectation that they will make a donation at some point during their visit, but without cash they will often leave without being able to do so. That's why a contactless unit can be valuable piece of kit for churches but with a variety of suppliers offering different units, functionality and fees it can be a minefield for churches deciding to install contactless devices in their building.

To help you identify which contactless devices are most suitable for your church please follow the simple steps below (prices shown were correct 12 Oct 2023).

You can also see what's right for you by using our Try Before You Buy Option.

Which contactless device is right for you?

Step 1: Is there an internet connection in the church?

An internet connection can be supplied by either a wired/WI-FI broadband router (from a physical telephone line) or by data from a mobile phone provider. Mobile data should be 3G as a minimum. If your church does not have broadband installed and you are unsure about the quality of your mobile phone signal in church please contact Gary Watson who can advise you as to the best way to find this out.

If the answer is "Yes" go to Step 2.

If the answer is "No" go to Step 5.

Step 2: Will the contactless device be permanently available for visitors at all times?

This will help you decide whether you need a secure or portable unit. If you wish to secure a unit to a part of the church building you will need to obtain permissions for this. If the unit will be secured to a mobile counter top, table, etc. then permissions should not be required.

If the answer is "Yes" go to Step 3.

If the answer is "No" go to Step 4.

Step 3: Choose from the following secured and connected contactless devices

The following devices are suitable for churches with an internet connection who want to leave their device on:

Prices quoted are only available when purchasing through Parish Buying. Click the image for more information about the device on the Parish Buying website.

Transaction Fees - (SumUp) 1.1% Debit / 1.3% Credit  (GWD) 1.99% +5p

Step 4: Choose your mobile and connected contactless device

The following devices are suitable for churches with an internet connection where a device will not be left unattended:

Prices quoted for SumUp & CollecTin are only available when purchasing through Parish Buying. Click the image for more information about the device on the Parish Buying website.

Transaction Fees - 1.1% Debit / 1.3% Credit

Step 5: Choose your off-line contactless device

The following devices are suitable for churches with no internet connection at all:

Transaction Fee 2.5% +10p

Try before you buy!

We know that some churches may be considering using a contactless device but are fearful to do so without knowing whether the initial investment for purchasing a device is justified by the additional income generated. To help overcome this barrier, the diocese are operating a scheme that allows your church to borrow a device from the diocese for 4-6 weeks and then review its impact before deciding whether to go ahead with a purchase.

To date we have supplied 23 devices to churches with only one church deciding not to go on to purchase a unit. To make the process even simpler, the giving team will configure, deliver and install the unit for you and if you decide to buy, you can simply cover the cost for the unit on the trial and keep it!

All our trial units are completely free and come equipped with an active sim card (and router if needed) so there aren’t any elements that you need to worry about. If you decided to keep the device, you will only need to purchase your own sim card to provide your internet connectivity (due to the contracts involved for this provision). The sim card we recommend is a multi-network data sim for £42+VAT. This comes with a data allowance of 500Mb which is ample for operating a contactless device.

Who to contact

If you have trouble identifying which unit would be most suitable, or have any questions about purchasing, setup or using these devices please contact Gary Watson, Lead Giving and Funding Adviser.