Do you sell books or branded merchandise (like t-shirts, hats, or sweatshirts) at your church? What about tickets to events? Or maybe you run a church coffee shop?

In any case, there’s a good chance that you need to accept payments at your church–or on your church website–that are not a part of the tithe and offering. With many of your church members using a credit or debit card (nearly half of Americans say they almost never use cash), most of these payments will be with a card or Apple Pay. 

You should have a separate strategy for receiving payments that are not towards your general giving fund, missions fund, end-of-year giving fund, or even a special pledge campaign. Even if you receive most of your donations online, you won’t want a $65 payment for a conference ticket funneled towards the tithe. 

Instead, you need a tool for receiving point-of-sale (POS) payments anytime, anywhere. These are typically instant, contactless payments that someone can make with a credit card, debit card, or even ApplePay. 

In the following article, we’ll talk about how to accept payments at your church. 

Can My Church Use Stripe?

Stripe is an Internet-based tool that integrates with multiple financial systems. 

It allows users to sell goods or services to others in a way that’s fast and easy–and requires minimal equipment or technology. Stripe is often used by e-commerce stores, but can also be used by small retail businesses, pop-up shops, and yes, church bookstores and coffee shops. 

Stripe can be used by churches, but it’s not tailored to churches. The payments you receive through Stripe won’t be integrated with your giving tool. You’ll need to create a system or process for keeping your payments organized together with your online donations. 

Not only that, but Stripe may include features and functionality that churches simply don’t need, making the process more complex than it needs to be. 

In short, Stripe isn’t ideal for churches. 

Tithe.ly Pay: Take Contactless Payments at Your Church 

Tithe.ly Pay allows you to take contactless payment from anywhere, at any time. Whether you want to set up an online store or sell products directly at your church site, you can use Tithe.ly Pay to make POS quick, safe and easy for both your buyers and sellers. 

Tithe.ly Pay uses the same technology as Stripe, but is designed specifically with churches in mind. Tithe.ly Pay:

• Integrates seamlessly with your Tithe.ly Giving account, making it easy to keep track of payments in the same place as your online donations
• Can be used on multiple church campuses 
• Allows you to view transaction history and issue refunds
• Is simple to set up (ideal for rotating volunteers)
• Can be used with major debit/credit cards and ApplePay

Best of all, Tithe.ly Pay comes with zero monthly or annual subscription fees. 

Can I Use Tithe.ly Pay for Events?

Hosting an event–like a missions conference, women’s/men’s conference, church retreat, youth retreat, or even an on-site course or workshops?

Then you’re probably selling tickets…especially if you’re hosting your event in a special location, flying in a speaker, or purchasing special decorations or props for your events. 

Whether you’re selling tickets for $16 or $60, you’re going to want to set up a web page where you can make it easy and convenient for church members, visitors, and even non-churchgoers to purchase tickets. But it’s also nice to offer the option to sell tickets onsite, for example after a church service. 

In any case, you can use Tithe.ly Pay to make ticket sales fast and easy for everyone. All you need is a tablet or mobile device. If you’d like to offer the option of Tap to Pay, you’ll need a card reader, which you can purchase directly from Tithe.ly Pay. 

Can I Use Tithe.ly Pay for My Church Bookstore?

Maybe your church sells Bibles, devotional books, journals, classic Christian literature, and books written by your own pastor or leadership team. 

Some churches have pop-up book shops that they run during weekend services. Other churches have more established bookstores inside their church facility. 

In any case, you’ll want a simple, secure way to receive payments for books and any other merchandise you may sell at your bookstore. 

If so, Tithe.ly Pay is a great option for you. Anyone working at your bookstore or shop can quickly learn how to use the tool, and you can keep track of your sales and transaction history with an easy-to-understand user interface. 

Can I Use Tithe.ly Pay for My Church Coffee Shop?

Drip coffee and donuts are no longer standard at church, but that doesn’t mean that churchgoers don’t love coffee. “Coffee and Jesus” has become synonymous with spending devotional time in the morning, reading the Bible, and even meeting up for one-on-one mentorship or discipleship meetings. 

If you’re on the coffee-and-church train, then you may sell freshly brewed coffee, lattes, hot drinks, and other snacks at your church. Whether you run a simple pop-up during your weekend service or an established retail front, you’ll want a way to receive payments from your happy, caffeinated customers. 

Tithe.ly Pay is a great option for church coffee shops because it’s simple to use, portable, and syncs seamlessly with your church finances. Through Tithe.ly Pay, your online shop will display different items that you sell, making it easy for volunteers or staff to charge for the right thing. 

And when you use Tithe.ly’s card reader with Tithe.ly Pay, customers can tap and go–making it super fast to buy your coffee and rush into service. 😉

Over to You

Technology has made it easier than ever to run church initiatives like conferences, retreats, and even retail storefronts. No longer do you need a cash register or complex system to sell stuff; thanks to Internet integrations, you can safely and securely receive payments from your church members and visitors. You can even run an online shop or sell event tickets through social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. 

Our encouragement to you? When it comes to innovation, the sky's the limit. Tithe.ly is here to partner with you through a range of tools and products that make church sales, online donations, management, communication, and online branding better and easier than ever. To learn more about Tithe.ly tools and products, click here.

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