Tap to Pay

Tap to Pay works wherever a staff member or volunteer can be present with a smartphone. Common scenarios include:

• Fundraising events — galas, auctions, and community gatherings.
• Door-to-door campaigns — canvassers collecting donations in the field.
• Volunteer drives and on-site collection — any location where a dedicated terminal or kiosk isn't practical

It complements online giving rather than replacing it. Organizations already using Fundraise Up can apply the same campaigns and supporter experience to in-person contexts without additional systems.

Staff members who collect donations through the app are assigned the Tap to Pay Specialist role in Fundraise Up. Tap to Pay Specialists download the Fundraise Up app and log in with their Fundraise Up credentials.

At the collection point, they select the campaign they're fundraising for and enter the donation amount. The supporter then taps their physical credit or debit card, or a digital wallet — Apple Pay, Google Pay, or any NFC-enabled wallet — against the Tap to Pay Specialist's phone to complete the payment.

A receipt is automatically generated; the supporter receives it by email or scans a QR code on the confirmation screen.

In addition to one-time donations, Tap to Pay supports recurring giving. Supporters can choose any frequency enabled on the campaign: daily, weekly, biweekly, every 4 weeks, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually.

Donations appear in the Fundraise Up Dashboard alongside all online giving — in Insights, CRM integrations, on the Donations page, and in exports. Each donation is attributed to a "Tap to Pay" source so in-person results can be filtered and reported separately from online channels. In exports, each donation includes the Created By User fields — ID, first name, last name, and email — identifying which team member accepted it.

If a supporter chose not to share their details, the donation is recorded anonymously — no name, email, or contact information is attached. Anonymous donations can only be identified in the Dashboard by their date and amount, and cannot be linked to a supporter profile.

Payment processing is handled by Stripe. When a supporter taps, card data is encrypted instantly and transmitted directly to Stripe — it never passes through the staff member's phone or Fundraise Up's systems. Fundraise Up never stores card numbers or CVV codes. Tap to Pay meets PCI DSS compliance standards.

Tap to Pay is also designed with personal device use in mind. Tap to Pay Specialists work within a tightly scoped permission set — they can collect donations and nothing else. Specialists cannot access the Fundraise Up Dashboard beyond their own profile settings, cannot view or modify existing donations or supporter records, and cannot cancel or alter a completed transaction.

For more on how Fundraise Up handles security and supporter data, see PCI compliance for organizations using Fundraise Up, and Supporter information security FAQ.

• Android: Android: 11 or later, NFC-capable, with Google Play Services installed and screen lock enabled. The device must not be rooted.
• iPhone: iPhone: iOS 16.4 or later, iPhone XS or newer. A device passcode and Apple ID sign-in are required.
• Internet connection on the device.
• Location access granted to the app.
• An Organization Administrator or Tap to Pay Specialist role in Fundraise Up.
• A Stripe account with a Terminal Location configured — see Set up Tap to Pay.

Tap to Pay is not supported on iPads, Android tablets, or external terminals.

• If you are an organization administrator: see Set up Tap to Pay.
• If you are a Tap to Pay Specialist: see Accept in-person donations with Tap to Pay.