4aGoodCause supports both Authorize.net and Stripe as payment processors. You can connect your 4aGoodCause fundraising pages to either provider to process online payments from your donors for online donations, event registrations, and more.
Please use the guide below to help you choose which provider might be the best fit for your organization.
If you are not signed up with either of these providers we can help you acquire an account.
Stripe
About
Stripe is a third-party payment processor. Similar to PayPal or Square, it’s a software tool that websites can connect to process online payments. Stripe is an all-in-one provider. This means it handles both parts of a payment transaction, the authorization of the card and the settlement of the funds into your bank account. Stripe will deposit your funds in two business days following the transaction date. Stripe fees are taken out of each transaction before deposit. Stripe offers solutions for recurring payments, fraud protection, and integrations with many third-party tools. Stripe is a platform built for developers (like 4aGoodCause) to build solutions for payment processing.
Pricing
Stripe is a good payment processor for smaller nonprofits that process a low volume of online credit card donations.
Stripe does offer a discounted nonprofit price but your nonprofit must be a 501c3 charity and process 80% of its revenue from donations to be eligible for the discount. Revenue such as membership fees or ticket sales do not qualify.
Discounted pricing:
2.2% + 30¢ for most cards
3.5% for American Express
Regular pricing (if you do not qualify for the discount):
2.9% + 30¢ for all cards
Extra percentage charge for subscription-based transactions (think automated, recurring donations)
0.7% added on subscription charges
Payment methods supported by 4aGoodCause through Stripe
Visa
Mastercard
Discover
American Express
JCB
Diner's Club
Many international credit cards
PayPal
Google Pay
Apple Pay
DAFpay (donor-advised fund payment)
Pros
Fast, easy setup
Easy-to-use dashboard
Cons
Primarily for online processing only
No virtual terminal for in-person processing
Harder accounting (Fees taken out of each transaction)
Account stability issues
Higher rate for Amex
Extra percentage charged for subscription charges
Not all nonprofits qualify for discount
Best for
Nonprofits that want to get set up and process payments quickly
How to sign up
Authorize.net
About
Authorize.net is a payment gateway. A payment gateway is a service that allows accepting credit cards over the Internet. A payment gateway does for a website what a swipe terminal does for a physical store like a Wal-Mart: it encrypts the credit card data and sends it out securely over the payment network.
Authorize.net does not handle the deposits of funds from credit cards into your bank account. For this, Authorize.net relies on a separate account, a merchant account. A merchant account is an account at an Acquiring Bank and is used to fund you for your credit card transactions.
Your merchant account will deposit your funds 1-3 business days following the transaction date. It will deposit 100% of your donation and take its fees out once a month.
Authorize.net is a full-featured gateway that offers solutions for recurring payments, fraud protection, ACH payments, and in-person processing (virtual terminal and mobile app). Authorize.net is a well-established company (owned by Visa) that helps small businesses and nonprofits process payments easily and reliably.
Pricing
Merchant accounts and the Authorize.net payment gateway are sold through many banks, merchant companies, and resellers so the pricing can vary. While Authorize.net sells an all-in-one solution of a merchant account plus gateway from its website, this is typically not the best offer. You can typically get a better price and custom service by going through a reseller. 4aGoodCause is a reseller as are many of the merchant account providers we partner with.
While we believe our merchant account partner offers the best rates and service available, if you want to use 4aGoodCause with your merchant account provider, we can typically still work with you and/or provide you with a personalized, side-by-side cost analysis to ensure you have the most competitive pricing for your nonprofit. Contact us for compatibility details or a price comparison to what you are considering.
Should you acquire a merchant account and Authorize.net through 4aGoodCause, here is our pricing.
4aGoodCause Payments (powered by Swipesum)
Authorize.net
$10/month and 10¢ per transaction
Optional Advanced Fraud Detection at $5/month (recommended)
Optional Echeck/ACH Processing at $10/month or 0.75% per transaction (recommended)
Merchant account
2.65% + 30¢ per transaction (discounted pricing for 501c3 nonprofits)
$20/month
$119 annual PCI security fee
Choose 4aGC Payments and your first two months of 4aGoodCause are on us.
Payment methods supported by 4aGoodCause through Authorize.net
Visa
Mastercard
Discover
American Express
JCB
Diner's Club
E-check (ACH)
PayPal
Google Pay
Apple Pay
DAFpay (donor-advised fund payment)
Pros
Great customer support
Advanced security and fraud protection
Account / data portability (gateway supported by most all merchant providers)
Easier accounting (Fees taken out once a month, not on each transaction)
Discounted pricing for all 501c3 nonprofits
Next-day funding available
Easier to implement Apple Pay
Lower rate for Amex
No extra charge for subscription charges
Cons
Approval can take a few business days
Best for
Nonprofits that want to process ACH payments
Nonprofits that need to process in-person payments in addition to online
Nonprofits that want dedicated customer support
Nonprofits that want more advanced security
Nonprofits that want to process recurring donations
How to sign up
Still have questions? Contact us at support@4agoodcause.com to help you choose the payment provider that works best for your nonprofit.