Understanding church giving fees
Every online giving platform involves some form of payment processing fee. Credit card companies charge 2.2-2.9% plus a per-transaction fee. Some church giving platforms add their own platform fee on top of this, which can bring total costs to 3-5% of every donation.
For a church receiving $10,000 per month in online giving, the difference between a 2.2% fee and a 4% fee is $2,160 per year. That is real money that could fund a mission trip, hire a part-time staff member, or keep the lights on.
No platform fees vs no processing fees
It is important to distinguish between platform fees (what the software company charges) and processing fees (what credit card networks charge). No legitimate giving platform can eliminate processing fees entirely — Visa and Mastercard set those rates. But many platforms add unnecessary platform fees on top.
When a giving platform advertises 'no fees,' look carefully at what they mean. Some mean no platform fee but still pass through standard processing rates. Others mean the donor covers the fee through an optional add-on. The best approach is a platform with no platform fee and competitive processing rates.
How Relius keeps giving costs low
Relius does not charge a monthly platform fee for its giving features. Churches pay only the standard Stripe processing rate, which is among the lowest in the industry. There are no per-transaction platform fees, no monthly subscription costs, and no feature gates.
Relius also includes automated giving receipts, year-end giving statements, recurring donation management, and detailed giving analytics — all at no additional cost. These features typically require a paid plan on other platforms.
Helping donors cover processing fees
Many churches offer donors the option to cover processing fees when they give. This is a simple checkbox that adds the processing percentage to the donation total. When donors opt in, the church receives 100% of the intended gift.
In practice, about 40-60% of donors choose to cover fees when given the option. Relius makes this easy to enable and tracks fee coverage in your giving reports.