Get the 2.2% nonprofit rate

If your church is a registered 501(c)(3), Stripe will discount your card processing fees from 2.9% + $0.30 to 2.2% + $0.30. Bank transfers (ACH) are 0.8% capped at $5 either way. Scout takes no cut of any gift, so the whole discount stays with your church.

For a church taking $200K a year online, the discount is roughly $1,400 a year. For $500K, about $3,500.

The rate lives on your Stripe account. You apply with Stripe, Stripe decides, and Scout never sees which rate you're on.

Who qualifies

Your church needs an active 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS. If you're a local church in a recognized denomination, you may be covered under a group ruling. Check with your denomination's headquarters if you're unsure.

If you don't have your determination letter yet, you can keep taking gifts at the standard 2.9% rate while you apply with the IRS.

Apply for the rate

1. 1

   Finish connecting Stripe

   Stripe wants your account in good standing before it will process the discount. In Scout that means the Connected card on Giving → Giving setup shows both Charges and Payouts reading Enabled. Set up Stripe Connect walks through getting there.

2. 2

   Open Stripe's nonprofit fee discount page

   Go to Stripe's nonprofit fee discount article. It holds the current submission form and tells you what they need.

   Stripe changes that form from time to time, so their page is more current than this one.

3. 3

   Have these documents ready

   You'll be asked for:

   • Your EIN (the federal tax ID for your church)
   • A copy of your 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS (a PDF scan is fine)
   • Your Stripe account ID, which starts with acct_

   Find the account ID in your Stripe Dashboard under Settings → Account details, or in Scout on the Connected card at Giving → Giving setup, on the line reading Account: acct_….

   Two things gate that card inside Scout. It only renders once Stripe has enabled both charges and payouts, and the setup screen needs the Edit church settings permission on top of View giving data. A bookkeeper on the seeded Finance role lands on an access-denied page there, so an Owner, Admin, or Pastor has to read the account ID out to them. The Giving setup button is also desktop-only. Your Stripe Dashboard has neither limit, which usually makes it the faster place to copy the ID from. See What each permission controls.

4. 4

   Submit and wait

   Stripe usually reviews nonprofit applications within 1–2 business days, and emails the address on your Stripe account when the rate is applied.

   There is nothing to do in Scout afterward. Because the rate is attached to your Stripe account, every charge after it lands uses the lower fee, including the next charge on an existing recurring gift.

Nothing in Scout changes when the rate is approved

Scout never reads your Stripe pricing, so no screen in the app tells you which rate you're on. Two things get mistaken for confirmation:

• The line on the Giving page ("Stripe deducts its processing fee from each gift. Scout takes no cut.") with its link to this article. It shows for every church with Stripe connected and reads the same before and after approval.
• The Cover the … processing fee checkbox in churchHQ's Give tab. Its estimate already assumes 2.2% + $0.30 on cards. Until your discount comes through, a card gift where the giver covered the fee leaves the church about 0.7% short of the full amount.

Scout also doesn't store or show Stripe's fee on a gift. The Recent gifts table on the Giving page carries Donor, Fund, Method, Amount, and Date. The donor's name links to their profile, and there's no gift detail screen behind a row. The Export CSV file from the giving report (/giving/report) has no fee column either: it's Date, Donor, Fund, Method, Type, Amount, Note. Fees live in Stripe.

Confirm the rate is active

A week or so after applying, send yourself a small test gift from the Give tab in churchHQ. Scout hosts no public giving page, so gifts come from someone signed in to the member app. Then open that payment in your Stripe Dashboard and read the fee:

• 2.2% + $0.30 on a $10 card gift is $0.52
• 2.9% + $0.30 on a $10 card gift is $0.59

The Record gift button in Scout won't work for this check. It logs a cash, check, or other offline gift, and no money moves through Stripe.

If the fee still reads at the higher rate after a week, reply on your application thread with Stripe.

What about bank transfers (ACH)?

ACH gifts are 0.8% capped at $5, the same whether or not your nonprofit application has gone through. The discount applies to card gifts.

On larger gifts a bank transfer saves the most. A $5,000 card gift costs $110.30 in fees at the nonprofit rate, and $145.30 before it. The same gift by bank transfer costs $5, because the fee caps there.

Before you point givers that way, check what they can see. Bank transfer only appears as a payment method in churchHQ's Give tab once Stripe has activated ACH payments on your connected account. Until then Scout hides the choice and card is the only option. If your givers tell you there's no bank option on the screen, that capability is still pending on Stripe's side. Giving from the app covers what they see.

Can Scout help if Stripe rejects my application?

Yes. Rejections usually come down to paperwork: a name mismatch between your IRS letter and your Stripe account, or a document Stripe still wants. Email support@scout.church and we'll help you respond.