Online giving in ECA runs on Stripe, the payment processor that handles the actual credit card processing. Each gift is processed in your church's own Stripe account, in your church's name, and paid out to your church's checking account. There is no third-party "giving company" holding your funds in between, and ECA takes nothing on top of Stripe's processing fee.
You start it from inside ECA, so you don't need to go to stripe.com first. Stripe's own secure form opens for the identity part, and ECA never sees or stores your bank or ID details.
What you'll need handy
- Your church's EIN: the IRS-issued nonprofit ID (employer ID number). If you don't have one yet, you can't process credit cards as a church; come back to this step once you've applied.
- Your church's legal name and address, exactly as filed with the IRS.
- A church checking account (routing and account number).
- One authorized person, typically the pastor or treasurer. Federal law requires Stripe to verify the person running the account, so have their date of birth and full Social Security number ready. Stripe may also ask for an ID document.
The flow
- Open Settings, then Giving (Giving settings).
- Click Connect your bank account. ECA creates your church's Stripe account in the background, set up as a nonprofit and filled in with what we already know.
- A full-screen panel opens. Click Add information and Stripe's secure form opens in a Stripe window. Fill in:
- EIN, legal name, address
- The authorized representative (name, date of birth, Social Security number)
- Bank account routing and account numbers
- Submit the form.
The authorized person has to complete this themselves, because Stripe requires that person to accept its terms. ECA can't do it for them.
Stripe verifies your information, and for most churches that takes 1 to 2 business days. Some applications are approved instantly; others need additional documents, which Stripe will ask for.
You can do this on the Free plan ahead of time. Donors can't give until your church is on a paid plan.
After approval
Once Stripe approves your account and your church is on a paid plan, go back to Giving settings and click Enable giving. Then the Give button on your home page becomes functional, your /give page accepts donations, and members can give from the member app: tapping Give opens your church's giving page in their browser, still signed in, so they don't need to log in again.
The nonprofit rate
Stripe offers a lower processing rate to verified 501(c)(3) nonprofits. ECA can send the application to Stripe for you from the Nonprofit Rate tab in Giving settings. Stripe makes the decision, and the tab estimates 5 to 10 business days. The tab shows the current rate and the status of your application, and ECA emails you when Stripe answers. Until it is approved, you pay Stripe's standard rate.
Fees
Stripe's processing fee comes out of each gift. Donors can choose to cover it when they give, and if they do, their receipt shows the extra amount and the total charged.
Where the money goes
- Every donation is processed in your church's own Stripe account, and Stripe pays it out to your church bank account.
- Open Bank & Payouts (Settings, Giving, then the Bank & Payouts tab) to choose a payout schedule: daily, weekly, monthly, or manual. The page also shows how many days Stripe waits before a donation clears, which Stripe sets.
- If payouts aren't running (setup unfinished, or no bank account on file), Bank & Payouts shows a notice that says why and what to do.
- Bank & Payouts is also where you update bank or business details, and where the name donors see on their card statement is set.
If you set up giving before September 30, 2026
Churches that connected before this change see a Reconnect giving step on Bank & Payouts. It takes about three minutes and is done in Stripe's secure form. Your current giving keeps working until Stripe approves the new connection, and then it switches over automatically.
Questions about Stripe specifically
If you need to check a specific transaction or refund a donation, do it from the Giving page in ECA. Churches on their own Stripe account (everyone who connected after the September 2026 change, and anyone who has reconnected) don't have a separate Stripe dashboard login. Bank and business changes happen on Bank & Payouts.