The Salisbury Giving Team recommends focussing on the devices that are tried and tested by the National Giving Team.
Before you purchase anything, register with Parish Buying, so that you can take advantage of the special prices the Church of England has negotiated on your behalf.
You'll also find full step-by-step guides to follow to set up payment processors such as Sumup and Strip, and the Give A Little donation platform. These guides are regularly updated and take the stress out of the process.
Which device is right for us?
Questions you might want to ask: do you want to leave a device unattended; do you want it for weddings, do you hold events, would you like it to be portable, do you have an internet connection? So many questions and options – it might be best for us to visit; to talk to you about it, so we can discuss what you need and see what is best for your church.
The Giving Team recommends devices that have been tried and tested for us by the National Giving Team. These are listed on Parish Buying, where discounted prices have been specially negotiated for us.
A good place to start is by looking at the CollecTin More (£330) and Payaz giving station (£365). There are no monthly charges, just the donation transaction fee. Both work with SumUp to take the donation, and GiveALittle which manages the customer facing donation touch screen.
CollecTin More
CollecTin is Portable - handheld, lockable, can be left unattended, works with GiveALittle to create campaigns which encourage giving.- Can be secured with a Kensington lock cable or purchased with the mount.
- CollecTin is portable and can be shared between churches or taken to outdoor events, fetes, and village halls.
- CollecTin comes with a built in 4G Daisy Communications multi-network SIM that can be activated for £42+VAT annually (500MB data) allowing completely mobile use.
- The CollecTin can also connect to Wi-Fi networks.
- Already purchased by many parishes in Weymouth, West Moors, St Barnabas in Bearwood, Hazlebury Bryan, St Swithuns in Bridport, West Bay. We also have CollecTin devices that we can demonstrate.
Payaz Giving Station
The Payaz Giving Station works in the same way as the CollecTin, using Sumup and GiveALittle. The difference is it is not handheld, it has a bigger screen and greater presence, and looks good by a visitor book.- Payaz be purchased with a pre-installed 4G SIM activated enabling the Giving Station to connect to mobile networks.
- The Payaz Giving Station can also connect to Wi-Fi networks.
- Can be secured with a Kensington lock cable.
- Payaz can be seen at Stourton church, Holy Trinity in Bradford on Avon, Redlynch, Lyme Regis, Beaminster, and Moreton to name a few.
Give A Little online donation platform – important added benefit
In addition to working the touch screen on Payaz and CollecTin, GiveALittle also has the facility to take online donations on your website, through A Church Near You, and create links/QR codes for printed materials. The premium service is currently free through Parish Buying. Sign-up now and start using it before a monthly charge comes in. We do not know when this will be, but it makes sense to get in early and get it up and running while it is still free. Then by the time the charges come in, we will not mind as it will be paying for itself. In any case it would be less than £2 per week.
Offline Solutions
If you genuinely do not have a good mobile signal, or an internet connection, there are devices that will take donation transactions and store them for you. It means taking the device out of church on a regular basis to connect to Wi-Fi and download donations.
A word of caution:
At the monthly cost, it is worth weighing up getting connected to the internet instead, which has wider benefits for your church.
GWD Midi or Skinny
- GWD is a high-end product at between £550 and £1,000 – these can be handheld, secured to a cupboard, or can be ordered with a stand.
- While it is a more expensive model, we are told it is higher quality, eg typing on the tablet is much quicker making it easier to enter email addresses for Gift Aid.
- Can work in offline or online mode.
- Can be seen at Milton Abbey and Upwey.
Offline options – not offered by Parish Buying
Goodbox and Goodplate were part of the Parish Buying offer, until they ran into financial difficulties and came off the market to new customers. As at May 2023 they are back up and running. If you are interested in these, you will need to go direct. www.goodbox.com/
PayACharity also offers offline and online options. No longer available through Parish Buying, you need to go direct to the supplier www.payacharity.com/
Getting connected to the internet
All contactless giving devices need to be plugged in, and all require a connection to the internet at some point, but do not be put off. This does not mean you need broadband.
If a traditional landline broadband network is not available, most churches can create a Wi-Fi network inside the church by using a router combined with a mobile SIM card. An inexpensive pay-pay-as-you go SIM combined with a £100 router would result in connectivity for your contactless giving, but also a bonus of a Wi-Fi network for church visitor use.
There are also some offline options – these come with a monthly charge, so it is worth exploring Wi-Fi hotspots and broadband first. You can find out more about going online via our Getting Connected page.
There are great advantages to getting an internet connection in church, and we are here to help you.
Harry Neary: Digital Giving Officer harry.neary@salisbury.anglican.org
Anna Hardy: Diocesan Giving Advisor anna.hardy@salisbury.anglican.org
