The Fastest Way To Pay The Lord
Installing ATMs in God’s House
Marty Baker, lead pastor at Stevens Creek Community Church was among a small group keeping an eye on possible changes in how worshipers financially support their faiths. Three years ago, Baker decided it was the appropriate time for Stevens Creek to embrace electronic giving, and he created a company to produce ATM-like kiosks where congregants can use plastic to tithe. Now, there’s no more waiting for the passing of the plate for debit or credit card-carrying members of Baker’s Augusta, Ga., church. Instead, they can use one of the four e-giving stations located in the church’s atrium. So far this year, Stevens Creek members have electronically donated around $200,000. The annual budget of the Church of God-affiliated ministry runs between $1.5 million and $2 million. The key benefit for churches and other nonprofits is that they get some donations they might not have received or received as quickly.
Since Baker and his wife launched Automated Giving Solutions LLC, their separate, for-profit kiosk company that is marketed as SecureGive, they have placed the devices in eight other churches and are expanding. The key benefit for donors is that they can give in a familiar way that also, in some cases, gives back to them via their cards’ added benefits.
Of course, there are fees. Even when trying to render unto God, it’s impossible to forget about that portion that goes to Caesar or his agents. As with purely commercial transactions, each credit card swipe generates a fee of around 1.9% of the amount for the processing company. There’s also a fee of 30 to 35 cents for running the card through the reader. So does that mean the church member will see an few extra bucks taken from his or her account when a gift is made at a kiosk, similar to the charges at many secular ATMs? No. “The church absorbs the fee,” says Baker, who adds that although SecureGive is a for-profit company, he doesn’t view the fees as a way to make money. “We couldn’t survive doing that.” But the main reason for creating the company, says Baker, was to find a way to encourage giving and keep more of those gifts in the ministry.
“If you donate $1,000 to your church on a Web site, it will cost the church $20 to process it. If you donate $1,000 with SecureGive’s PIN debit, it will cost the church about a dollar to process that gift.” The difference? The cost to run a debit transaction is the interchange rate and a swipe fee, which combined is around $1 per transaction.
