Card Machine for a UK Charity or Donation Box

Yes, UK charities can take card donations through a standard merchant account. Most acquirers offer reduced rates to registered charities (typically 0.3 to 0.6 per cent on Visa/Mastercard versus 0.5 to 0.9 per cent for commercial accounts). Charities Aid Foundation Bank, Worldpay, Elavon, Dojo and SumUp all serve charities. Gift Aid is collected separately by the charity, not by the acquirer, but some terminals add a Gift Aid prompt at the point of donation.

What this means for your business

A UK charity is treated as a normal merchant for card payment purposes. The Charity Commission registration number and the charity bank account are the two extra details on the application. Underwriting checks the trustees rather than directors, and the bank account match is to the charity not a person. Otherwise the process is identical to a commercial merchant account, with KYC on trustees and proof of address.

Reduced charity rates come from two sources. Visa and Mastercard charge lower interchange to registered charities (around 0.2 per cent below commercial), and most acquirers pass some of that through. Charities Aid Foundation Bank offers some of the lowest charity rates in the UK because it specialises in the sector. Worldpay, Elavon and Dojo offer charity-tier pricing on application. SumUp and Zettle do not have a separate charity tier but their flat rate (1.69 to 1.75 per cent) is competitive for low-volume use.

Gift Aid handling is the charity's job not the acquirer's. The donation comes through the card machine as a normal transaction, and the charity submits the Gift Aid claim to HMRC separately. Some terminals (CAFDonate, JustGiving on Worldpay) add a Gift Aid prompt at point of donation, which captures the donor declaration in real time and feeds a Gift Aid report. This raises the proportion of donations that qualify for Gift Aid uplift.

Key points

Charities are treated as standard merchants with the addition of the Charity Commission number
Charity-tier interchange (around 0.2 per cent below commercial) is set by Visa and Mastercard
Charities Aid Foundation Bank, Worldpay, Elavon and Dojo offer dedicated charity rates
Gift Aid is collected by the charity, not the acquirer, but some terminals capture donor declarations at point of donation
Trustees rather than directors are KYC subjects on the application
Bank account must be in the charity name, not a trustee personal account
SumUp and Zettle have no charity tier but their flat rate works well for low-volume use

Common pitfalls

Forgetting to apply for the charity rate, the default tier is commercial unless you ask
Using a trustee personal account for settlement, the charity bank account must be on file
Missing the Charity Commission registration number on the application, this is the trigger for charity-tier pricing
Treating Gift Aid as an acquirer function, the claim is made separately through HMRC

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