Mobile payments could be a major source of church donations

Churches and other faith-based organizations will undoubtedly continue to pass the collection plate among their brethren, but making a bid for donations by mobile payments may also become a regular part of their fundraising strategy. Vanco Services, a provider of electronic payments products, has announced it will focus on churches and faith groups so they can capitalize on their parishioners' use of smartphones and tablets to generate donations for their coffers. According to the Federal Reserve Payments Study, making payments by check or cash is declining rapidly. Churchgoers and those affiliated with religious organizations are a well-defined population that traditionally makes donations during services and church-related events. By targeting their use of mobile devices, the organizations will be able to tap into payments by debit, prepaid and ACH cards made anytime from any location. In the same way that e-commerce has benefitted by retailers who allow their customers to use a plug-in card reader attached to their devices, churches can also gain contributions with the swipe of a card. Online and ACH products by Vanco are used to collect donations, tuition and other payments by about 12,000 churches, schools and non-profit organizations nationwide.