Best card payment solution for charities
Charities usually need more than one payment tool, because donations, event collections and charity shop sales all work differently. A registered charity is also entitled to lower processing rates than a standard business on several platforms — worth claiming even if you only take a modest volume of card payments.
Best choice: PayPal (registered charity rate)
Registered UK charities can apply for PayPal's discounted rate of 1.4% + 20p per transaction with no monthly fee — well below PayPal's standard consumer/business rate, and worthwhile for any charity taking online or app-based donations. Applying requires switching your account type to non-profit and confirming registration.
Best alternative: GoodBox (in-person tap-to-donate)
For street collections, events or a fixed collection point, a purpose-built contactless donation device is often a better fit than a standard card reader, since it's designed around fixed suggested-donation amounts rather than a till-style transaction. Devices can be bought or rented, with a percentage taken on funds raised.
What a charity's card income usually looks like
Card donations vary hugely by channel: a one-off online gift is commonly £10-£50, while a tap-to-donate device at an event often sees smaller average amounts (£3-£10) but higher volume. Charity shop sales behave like ordinary retail transactions and should be treated separately from donation income when choosing a provider, since a shop sale isn't eligible for charity donation-processing rates.
| Provider | Best for | Fee | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
PaPayPal (charity rate) | Online/app donations | 1.4% + 20p | None |
GbGoodBox | In-person tap-to-donate | % of funds raised + device cost | Rental or purchase |
LoLopay | Charity shop retail sales | 0.79-0.99% | None |
Beyond the headline rate
Gift Aid capture
UK charities can reclaim an extra 25p per £1 donated by a UK taxpayer through Gift Aid — check whether your chosen donation platform captures the declaration at the point of payment, since retrofitting it later is far harder.
Fixed vs open donation amounts
Tap-to-donate devices typically offer a small set of preset amounts (e.g. £2/£5/£10), which speeds up street collections but isn't suited to larger or variable gifts — those are better suited to an online donation page.
Separating shop sales from donations
Charity shop retail income doesn't qualify for charity donation-processing rates on most platforms — a standard low-fee card reader is the right tool for that revenue stream, kept separate from your donation processor.
Recurring/regular giving
If you run a regular-giving programme, check whether your provider supports recurring card payments or Direct Debit natively, since managing renewals manually doesn't scale past a small donor base.
A charity receiving £3,000/month in online donations
At an average donation of £25 (120 donations/month):
| PayPal charity rate (1.4%+20p) | £66.00/month |
| PayPal standard business rate (2.9%+30p)* | £123.00/month |
*Illustrative standard rate for comparison — confirm PayPal's current published business rate. Applying for the charity rate on this example saves roughly £57/month, or over £680/year, for a five-minute account settings change.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best payment solution for a registered charity?
PayPal's discounted charity rate for online donations; a purpose-built device like GoodBox for in-person tap-to-donate collections; a standard card reader for charity shop retail sales.
Do I need to apply for the charity rate?
Yes — you must be registered with the Charity Commission (or equivalent) and switch your account type to non-profit; it isn't applied automatically.
Compare the full payment gateway market
See every provider side by side for online donation and payment processing.
Methodology: PayPal UK charity rate confirmed via PayPal's official charity help pages, checked 30 July 2026. GoodBox pricing based on publicly available information and may vary — confirm current costs directly. Lopay pricing from lopay.com. Typical donation values are directional estimates, not an independent survey. See our Editorial Policy.