Do I need to apply for PayPal's charity rate, or is it automatic?

You need to apply. Charities must be registered with the Charity Commission (or the Scottish or Northern Irish equivalent) and separately recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid, then switch their PayPal business account type to non-profit in account settings to be considered for the discounted rate.

Home / Payment Gateways / Best for Charities

Checked 30 July 2026

Best card payment solution for charities

Q: What's the best payment solution for a registered charity?

For online and app-based donations, PayPal's discounted charity rate (1.4%+20p, available to registered charities who apply for it) is the strongest option. For in-person tap-to-donate at events or collection points, a purpose-built device like GoodBox is often better than a standard card reader since it's designed around fixed donation amounts. For charity shop retail sales, a standard low-fee card reader like Lopay applies as normal.

Charities usually need more than one payment tool, because donations, event collections and charity shop sales all work differently. A registered charity is also entitled to lower processing rates than a standard business on several platforms — worth claiming even if you only take a modest volume of card payments.

Best choice: PayPal (registered charity rate)

Registered UK charities can apply for PayPal's discounted rate of 1.4% + 20p per transaction with no monthly fee — well below PayPal's standard consumer/business rate, and worthwhile for any charity taking online or app-based donations. Applying requires switching your account type to non-profit and confirming registration.

Best alternative: GoodBox (in-person tap-to-donate)

For street collections, events or a fixed collection point, a purpose-built contactless donation device is often a better fit than a standard card reader, since it's designed around fixed suggested-donation amounts rather than a till-style transaction. Devices can be bought or rented, with a percentage taken on funds raised.

Typical payment volume

What a charity's card income usually looks like

Card donations vary hugely by channel: a one-off online gift is commonly £10-£50, while a tap-to-donate device at an event often sees smaller average amounts (£3-£10) but higher volume. Charity shop sales behave like ordinary retail transactions and should be treated separately from donation income when choosing a provider, since a shop sale isn't eligible for charity donation-processing rates.

Provider	Best for	Fee	Contract	WMP score	Action
PaPayPal (charity rate)	Online/app donations	1.4% + 20p	None	★★★☆☆3.6/5	See PayPal pricing (opens in a new tab)
GbGoodBox	In-person tap-to-donate	% of funds raised + device cost	Rental or purchase	★★★☆☆3.0/5	See GoodBox pricing (opens in a new tab)
LoLopay	Charity shop retail sales	0.79-0.99%	None	★★★★☆4.3/5	See Lopay pricing (opens in a new tab)

Features that matter for charities

Beyond the headline rate

Gift Aid capture

UK charities can reclaim an extra 25p per £1 donated by a UK taxpayer through Gift Aid — check whether your chosen donation platform captures the declaration at the point of payment, since retrofitting it later is far harder.

Fixed vs open donation amounts

Tap-to-donate devices typically offer a small set of preset amounts (e.g. £2/£5/£10), which speeds up street collections but isn't suited to larger or variable gifts — those are better suited to an online donation page.

Separating shop sales from donations

Charity shop retail income doesn't qualify for charity donation-processing rates on most platforms — a standard low-fee card reader is the right tool for that revenue stream, kept separate from your donation processor.

Recurring/regular giving

If you run a regular-giving programme, check whether your provider supports recurring card payments or Direct Debit natively, since managing renewals manually doesn't scale past a small donor base.

Realistic cost example

A charity receiving £3,000/month in online donations

At an average donation of £25 (120 donations/month):

PayPal charity rate (1.4%+20p)	£66.00/month
PayPal standard business rate (2.9%+30p)*	£123.00/month

*Illustrative standard rate for comparison — confirm PayPal's current published business rate. Applying for the charity rate on this example saves roughly £57/month, or over £680/year, for a five-minute account settings change.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best payment solution for a registered charity?

PayPal's discounted charity rate for online donations; a purpose-built device like GoodBox for in-person tap-to-donate collections; a standard card reader for charity shop retail sales.

Do I need to apply for the charity rate?

Yes — you must be registered with the Charity Commission (or equivalent) and switch your account type to non-profit; it isn't applied automatically.

Compare the full payment gateway market

See every provider side by side for online donation and payment processing.

Compare payment gateways

Methodology: PayPal UK charity rate confirmed via PayPal's official charity help pages, checked 30 July 2026. GoodBox pricing based on publicly available information and may vary — confirm current costs directly. Lopay pricing from lopay.com. Typical donation values are directional estimates, not an independent survey. See our Editorial Policy.