One of the best cashless giving options for modern churches is a church giving kiosk that allows guests to give easily with cards, smartphones, and smartwatches – no cash needed! In this article, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about church giving kiosks, including how to choose the best card reader for your needs.
51% of Americans are using at least one kind of contactless payment method. Since most people don’t carry cash, adding things like a church giving kiosk, text-to-give, and QR codes lets parishioners support your church in as many ways as they can!
In this article, we’ll share how church giving kiosks can boost donations, plus how to choose the right card reader to build the best giving kiosk for your church.
Church giving kiosks are physical stations – including card reader apps – that help you accept contactless donations via quick taps or swipes from cards, smartphones, or smartwatches.
These physical stations typically involve an Android tablet or iPad connected to a card reader app that enables you to accept donations on the go using a reliable internet connection.
Along with donations, churches can use a giving kiosk to accept event registrations, share their mission, latest programs and campaigns, and more.
Donorbox Live™ Kiosk allows you to connect your Android tablet or iPad to a card reader device and start accepting donations through multiple quick and cashless methods – including credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and digital wallet payments. Alternatively, you can download the Donorbox Live™ app to your Android smartphone if utilizing our Tap-to-Pay feature.
The Donorbox Live™ app is available in 17 languages, allowing you to attract a wider audience to donate to your church.
Donorbox Live™ Kiosk - Learn More!
Church giving kiosks provide the best way for your beloved congregants to make cashless and contactless donations. Almost everyone carries their wallet and smartphone whenever they step outside the home. When you offer them ways to use their cards or phones to make a swift donation, they’d love to help!
If your church is using Donorbox Live™ Kiosk in the United Kingdom, you can give your donors the option to indicate whether their donation forms part of the U.K. Gift Aid. This means an extra 25% on top of every qualifying offering to your church!
With your church giving kiosk, what’s even better is your supporters won’t have to necessarily go online. Just swiping or tapping at your kiosk machine should help do the job – in a matter of seconds, no less!
If you can find volunteers to oversee your kiosk, you can easily educate people and boost donations.
With Donorbox Live™, you can also add donation designations to empower your donors. Plus, adding minimum or maximum donation amounts gives you more control over incoming gifts to your church.
Millennials and Gen Zs are tech-savvy and more likely to give using quick and cashless methods. These donors rarely have cash on hand, so if your church hopes to collect offerings from these members, you need an easy way to collect these gifts.
Church giving kiosks are the most effective options to grab the attention of your younger parishioners. Plus, they’re so accustomed to using digital devices that you won’t need to educate them on using your kiosk. They can explore on their own and make quick donations to your church!
Did you know faith-based nonprofits receive the largest amount of Giving Tuesday online donations? This means more people are prone to visiting your church and making donations during this time.
Rather than asking them to donate using your online donation page alone, direct them to your giving kiosk! Your donors can enjoy a seamless giving experience while also storing their contact data in your database for reaching out in the future.
Donorbox Live™ Kiosk stores your donors’ names, addresses, and phone numbers in the Donorbox database, if you choose to enable these options. You can easily access and segment this data to personalize communications and solicit donations throughout the year, increasing your chances of getting more donations.
And, ask your supporters to subscribe to your mailing list right from within the app.
This helps you connect with new and existing attendees and keep them informed about upcoming campaigns and exciting milestones.
When MasterCard ran a survey, they discovered that 82% of people considered contactless payments a safer way to pay. Naturally, the safety concern is out of the way for your church!
Contributing to the popularity of this cashless and contactless method, the US market has the most contactless cards than any other in the world. The global contactless payment market is also slated to reach $51.07 billion by 2026, which means it will grow nearly four times.
What does all this mean for your church giving? The opportunity to modernize secure giving experiences for your congregants.
A huge benefit to a church giving kiosk is that they can go anywhere. Since your kiosk is mainly a tablet (or an Android smartphone if using the Donorbox Live™ Tap-to-Pay feature), you can use it in any location. It is also an inexpensive option for your church, as tablets and smartphones are easily available!
Just ensure that you have a stable internet connection.
If you’re hosting a significant event, you can add several kiosks to ensure you get to reach and cover all your attendees. Position stationary church giving kiosks at various points – no need to oversee them as they function independently, so your church staff and volunteers can work elsewhere efficiently!
Your church can easily add the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app to your tablet device, pair it with a card reader device, select a campaign, and start accepting donations with this hassle-free solution!
Giving kiosks are tablets or other devices that require an efficient card reader app to accept donations. Be sure to choose the right card reader that fits your church’s needs and helps give supporters the best giving experience!
Here are five qualities to look for to be able to build the best giving kiosk for your church.
Your card reader app shouldn’t have endless requirements for you to activate it. You should be able to get started with the tools at hand – and in no more than a few minutes!
For example, Donorbox Live™ Kiosk requires you to have a tablet, a stable internet connection, an active Donorbox account, and an approved Stripe card reader device (Stripe M2 in the U.S. or a WisePad 3 if located elsewhere) to get started.
Then, you’ll log in to your Donorbox account, connect your Stripe account, and select your location on Stripe. Once you’ve created a campaign on Donorbox and added your ask amounts, add the app to your device, and that’s all – you’ll be ready to start fundraising!
Your church giving kiosk won’t be as preferable for visitors if it only offers contactless card payments. Choose a card reader that also includes digital wallets like Google Pay, Apple Pay, and more.
With Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, you can offer your donors various digital wallet options in addition to Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe payments.
Just because your donors are giving through quick swipes and taps doesn’t mean you can’t quickly collect valuable donor information!
Go for a card reader app that will take at least the names and email addresses of your donors and store them in your donor database. This helps with your future solicitation and other outreach efforts.
Donorbox Live™ Kiosk automatically stores this data whenever a donation is made via the connected card reader. The data is easy to access and use on the Donorbox supporter database. You can also integrate Donorbox with other leading CRMs and apps for even more effective use of the data.
Imagine having an online donation form while also running a separate capital campaign for your church – but your card reader doesn’t support more than a donation form!
That wouldn’t work for your fundraising strategy in the long run.
Your church needs a card reader app, like Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, that supports all features of the Donorbox fundraising platform. From fundraising campaign pages to Crowdfunding to Events to Memberships to Peer-to-Peer to Donor Management – everything is available on Donorbox!
All you have to do is choose the campaign or event you want to direct people to and get going.
Churches should add attractive displays for donors to see during or after their donation is finalized. That can be achieved with different display modes and screensavers.
Another important requirement should be the ability to add your church’s logo. If you can add your branding throughout the giving process, people will feel more confident about donating with your kiosk. This is especially true for outdoor events.
With Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, you’ll soon be able to meet these needs through various customization options.
Church giving kiosks can be a fun and unique way to collect parishioners’ offerings. The convenience and variety of options a kiosk offers will appeal to more of your followers and help you receive more funds throughout the year!
When building your kiosk, remember to include other ways to connect with church attendees, like connection cards, brochures, or prayer lists.
Donorbox now offers churches a seamless way to collect cashless donations with the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk Android and iOS app, which is available in 17 languages and pairs with card reader devices to make on-site fundraising quick and easy.
Check out our wide range of additional products and features that are designed to elevate your church’s fundraising and donor management. Sign up for free to start fundraising!
Find insightful guides and resources on church fundraising at the Donorbox Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a curated list of the best fundraising resources in your inbox every month!
Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
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Kristine Ensor