Your donor is ready to give. They’ve clicked through your campaign, read your mission, and landed on your donation form. But when they’re met with an unfamiliar currency or payment method, they hesitate. And just like that, the gift is lost.
It’s not that they didn’t care. It’s that the experience wasn’t built for them.
Why payment localization matters
Imagine a donor based in the Netherlands ready to support your cause. They click “Donate” and land on a form in U.S. dollars, with no option for iDEAL, their most common way to pay online.
They pause.
- How much is that in euros?
- Will there be hidden fees?
- Why can’t I use the method I trust?
That moment of friction is all it takes for a donor to bounce. They still want to support you, but they think, “I’ll do it later.” And as we all know, later never comes.
But that scenario is avoidable.
Nonprofits that embrace localized payment methods and currencies remove these doubts, reduce friction, and build trust, leading to more gifts and stronger donor relationships.
The data is clear
Online donors expect the same comfortable experience they get from e-commerce. And when they don’t see familiar options, they walk away.
Here’s what the data tells us:
- 13% of donors abandon the checkout when their preferred payment method isn’t available (PayPal, 2024).
- Adding local payment methods can result in a 46% lift in conversion (Stripe).
- Bank debit options like ACH Direct Debit in the US and Bacs Direct Debit in the UK bring entirely new donors to the table, donors who wouldn’t give otherwise (Stripe).
Here are some specific examples of how localized options impact conversion, according to Stripe:
| Local payment method | Conversion lift |
|---|---|
| iDEAL (Netherlands) | +39% |
| PayPal (Germany) | +47% |
| SEPA Direct Debit | +12% |
What we’ve seen at Fundraise Up
At Fundraise Up, we analyzed donation data across thousands of nonprofit campaigns. Here's what we found:
- In Australia, nearly 30% of donations come through PayPal, more than any other country.
- 4% of donors in the UK and Australia opt to give in a non-default currency when given the choice.
How Fundraise Up makes it easy
We’ve designed our platform to help nonprofits offer a frictionless, localized giving experience without the complexity. Here’s how:
- 135+ currencies supported
- Dozens of global payment options, including:
- Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo
- PayPal, cryptocurrency
- ACH (US), PAD (Canada), SEPA & iDEAL (Europe), BECS (Australia)
- Smart Checkout that automatically prioritizes the most relevant payment methods and currency for each donor, while still giving them the option to choose others if preferred.
We’ve seen it time and again: when donors see their currency and preferred payment method, they give more and give again. That’s why nonprofits using Fundraise Up consistently outperform industry benchmarks.
| Metric | Industry average | Fundraise Up customers |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion rate (click-to-donate) | 11% | 28% |
| Average one-time donation | $126 | $169 |
| Average monthly donation | $24 | $32 |
Real results: Canadian Red Cross
The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) partnered with Fundraise Up to modernize its donor experience, starting with payment flexibility.
And with support for 20+ languages and 135+ currencies, Fundraise Up gave CRC the global reach and localization needed to engage international and multilingual donors.
The impact:
- 24% increase in monthly donor revenue and a 51% increase in new monthly donors year-over-year.
- $2.3M CAD in new revenue from digital wallets: Adding Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PADs in Canada made giving easier and more accessible.
- 99% of existing monthly donors retained during the platform migration.
CRC also enabled multilingual donation flows for Canada’s French-speaking population and strengthened fraud protection using Stripe Radar, resulting in a 40%+ decrease in chargebacks.
“Finding the right, modern, user-friendly donor platform was mission-critical to our future. I can’t speak more highly of Fundraise Up and its team.” — Jessica Bernat, Director of Digital Marketing, Canadian Red Cross
Friction-free giving, from anywhere
When donors see their currency and the payment methods they know and trust, they’re more likely to give, and to keep giving. Fundraise Up helps nonprofits remove technical barriers and build trust at checkout, all without adding operational complexity.
Localized payments and currencies are foundational. But creating a truly local donor experience also means speaking the right language and meeting region-specific regulations.
Explore the rest of our localization series to discover how to build donor trust and increase giving at every step: