For newly formed and small nonprofits, PayPal is a go-to resource for collecting online payments. That’s no surprise as PayPal is one of the most recognized online payment gateways and offers some of the lowest fees for qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofits. PayPal Website Payments Standard—which allows you to easily place a “Donate” button on your website—is the most popular option for many smaller nonprofit organizations – but is it the best option? We take you through the pros and cons of using PayPal for donations and analyze how CheqrPay compares.
What are CheqrPay's Advantages over PayPal
- CheqrPay can help reduce abandonment. Your donate button will be the same style as your website increasing confidence in the donation process. There is never a need to create an account in order to donate.
- CheqrPay has integrated mobile wallet technology for a seamless giving experience for today’s consumer.
- CheqrPay offers branded donation pages and automatic receipts.
- CheqrPay provides you with name, email and mailing address for every donor, guaranteed.
- CheqrPay doesn’t require an app for our QR codes. Unlike PayPal, you truly can scan, give and be good to go without an app.
Name Recognition
Everyone knows PayPal, this is true. Sometimes, it can be a disadvantage to your organization. Did you know that only 12% of donors say they prefer to give with PayPal? (Source) When donors see that yellow donate button on your website, they know they will be taken to PayPal. So, will they choose to click? According to consumeraffairs.com, PayPal received less then 1.5 stars when rated by over 800 reviewers. (Source) There is a good chance that some who perceive PayPal negatively or who assume they need an account will not donate.
CheqrPay provides you with an online donation page that can be linked to a donate button on your website. This ensures that your donate button will match the style of your website and not announce “PayPal” to your donors. Simply create a button on your website and link it to your CheqrPay campaign URL.
Ease of Use and Abandonment Rates
PayPal is great for users that have a PayPal account. They have even recently rolled out an optional service called One Touch. According to PayPal; “When you use PayPal on your [device], we’ll automatically log you in on that device and browser so you can breeze through checkout across all eligible merchants.” So, great if you have a PayPal account, but what if you don’t? If you don’t have a PayPal account and want to give with a credit card (62% of folks prefer to give this way), you have to go through the hassle of entering your credit card information manually. Today’s consumer prefers immediate gratification, so often this is where abandonment occurs.
Most nonprofit websites see a donation form abandonment rate of around 50% – 70%. Yes, that’s more than half of the people who have found your website, gotten interested enough to click the “donate” button, looked at the donation form and decided not to give. (Source). CheqrPay has integrated Apple Pay and Google Pay into our payment process. Anyone who has a mobile wallet set up on their mobile device or computer browser can give in as little as 25 seconds – this greatly reduces abandonment. We make it quick and easy for anyone to give without the need to create an account.
Branding
Logos – PayPal gives you the option to include a logo with your donate button, but you have to use a hosted logo. Do you know what a hosted logo is or how to set one up? CheqrPay allows you to upload a unique jpg or png image for each of your campaigns and you can easily change it at any time. The logo displays on your donation page along with the name of your organization for a branded customer experience.
Receipts – For PayPal Standard users an automatic receipt is sent for each payment, but that receipt is branded with the PayPal logo and doesn’t include any text about income tax deductibility. CheqrPay sends a receipt for each donation that includes a contact email for your organization, your EIN number and a statement about tax deductibility. We help you meet the obligation to provide a tax receipt to every donor.
Data
Every nonprofit knows that fundraising is about building relationships. To do so effectively, you need to be able to reach your donors. With PayPal, you are guaranteed to receive your donor’s name and email, but did you know donors can opt out of providing their mailing address?
What happens when you send the paper version of your annual report or a gala invitation? Rest assured that CheqrPay will provide you with a name, email and mailing address for every one of your donors.
Fundraising QR Code
With the advent of the pandemic, QR codes are rising in popularity for contactless payments. PayPal is on the bleeding edge of this trend and recently rolled out QR codes for all accounts. CheqrPay also provides a QR code for each of your campaigns. What’s our advantage? With PayPal, you need to have the PayPal app on your mobile device in order to use the QR code. They also charge a higher rate (2.7%) for QR code transactions. CheqrPay is a web-based service, so there is no need to download an app. Simply scan to pay. This combined with mobile wallets makes the CheqrPay user experience one of the best in the market.
We’ve outlined all the ways PayPal has become a leader in the nonprofit payment market. Cost, ease of use, and QR codes make PayPal an attractive alternative for many organizations. CheqrPay provides all these things and more. By choosing CheqrPay you can get the lowest market rates and provide an unparalleled user experience for your donors.
We’d welcome the opportunity to share more about how we can help your nonprofit. Get in touch for a demo today!
