Donor Management Software Providers: Six ‘Must-Haves’ in a Payments Partner

Six ‘Must-Haves’ in a Payments Partner

A Guide for Donor Management Software Providers – Special Edition

Introduction

As a donor management software provider, you have seen firsthand the many ways organizations benefit from using your application.

From the marketing tools and fundraising solutions to the compliance reporting and detailed analytics, your solution plays an integral part in helping nonprofits execute successful giving campaigns.

You also understand the key role your payments integration plays in delivering a feature-rich solution.

In order to build and grow a thriving business, donor management ISVs need a true partnership with their payments provider—one that allows you to focus on your core business while your partner handles the payments detail.

Without this key alliance, you may find yourself dealing with product gaps and untapped revenue streams.

To ensure you have the right partner for your needs, we recommend keeping these six key considerations in mind:

. Technology to optimize giving

. Ease of setup with frictionless onboarding

. Merchant pricing built for nonprofits

. A proven track record

. Flexibile partnership programs

. Service and support

Technology to optimize giving

Your goal is to make giving easy. Your payment partner’s goal should be to provide you with the technology to make it happen. When donors face friction in the contribution process, they become less likely to convert.

TOKENIZATION

Recurring contributions from sustainers are essential to any nonprofit organization. With tokenization, ISVs can offer access to stored cards-on-file for recurring donations while removing the risk of handling and storing sensitive cardholder data from your software.

TOKEN SHARING

Just as your software supports many causes and nonprofits, chances are a donor does, too. Facilitate contributions to multiple organizations by the same donor with one seamless login to your software.

The ideal payment processor will offer purpose-built solutions for fundraising that help remove all possible barriers to capturing a donation. Here are the essential six:

CARD ACCOUNT UPDATER

From expiration to theft to loss, credit cards are replaced for a variety of reasons. When you offer Card Account Updater, donors’ cards will be automatically updated to avoid a disruption in recurring contributions.

ELECTRONIC CHECK ACCEPTANCE (ACH)

Many donors, especially loyal sustainers, prefer the convenience of making contributions by electronic check (ACH). Enable donors to contribute with their preferred payment method while helping nonprofits reduce the cost of payment acceptance. With same-day debit and nextday funding options, nonprofits get paid faster.

With $40B processed annually, look to Nuvei’s deeply integrated payment solutions to drive superior commerce outcomes.

MOBILE WALLETS

Because our cell phones are always within reach, your payment solution should enable organizations to accept Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. Removing resistance from the donation process, to meet donors where they are sets your software apart from the competition while helping nonprofits capture every dollar possible to support their cause.

SPLIT FUNDING

Many nonprofits need the ability to share funds with other entities.Two common use cases are covering software subscription costs and separating processing fees from donations collected. Split funding makes it possible.

Ease of setup with frictionless onboarding

Traditionally, establishing a merchant account for the first time, or simply switching merchant services providers, has been a tedious task—nonprofits are no exception.

The process includes lengthy merchant applications, requirements for supporting business documentation, back-and-forth pricing negotiations, the list goes on...

The friction in this process causes countless nonprofits to “stick it out” with inferior processing solutions that do not provide the purpose-built tools necessary for growth and profitability.

While organizations suffer, as a software provider, delays in merchant account setup and poor customer adoption because of painful merchant onboarding processes result in failure to fully monetize a potential leading revenue stream—your payments program.

PAYMENTS

THE GOOD NEWS

Managed payment facilitation models have recently emerged and are creating new opportunities for leading software providers to flip the script.

Managed payment facilitation makes it possible to deliver a frictionless merchant onboarding experience and white label payment solution without the requirements to take on the burdens associated with traditional payment facilitation (such as card brand registration and bank sponsorship requirements, capital needs, and assumed risk and liability).

Donor management software providers should look for a payments partner well-versed in managed payment facilitation and understands the unique risk and underwriting requirements for nonprofits.

By doing so, organizations can be up-and-processing in near real-time— think minutes, not days—producing immediate residual income. Whether you are moving your merchant portfolio or adding payments to your application for the first time, the process is simple.

90% data elements

Deliver a risk-free streamlined customer onboarding experience and reduce the number of data elements required to board a merchant with managed payment facilitation.

Merchant pricing programs built for nonprofits

With increased operating costs and shrinking profit margins, every penny counts. And, because no two nonprofits are alike, merchant pricing should not be either.

Instead of offering one-size-fits-all pricing, the ideal payments partner should have flexible pricing structures in place designed to support the organizations you serve.

Find a partner that can offer these options:

FLAT RATE

This simple, easy-to-understand rate structure is great for short-term campaigns or small nonprofits that want to know exactly how much they will pay for donation acceptance. Each transaction is charged the same rate regardless of the card type accepted or how the card is processed.

TIERED

A tiered pricing structure bundles interchange fees into a smaller number of tiers. Each tier is then assigned a charge. The fee assessed to the nonprofit for each transaction is calculated using the tiered rate instead of the actual interchange rate for the transaction type.

INTERCHANGE US / PASS-THROUGH

Arguably one of the most transparent pricing methodologies, it’s also one of the most complex to understand. Wholesale interchange rates are passed through to the nonprofit. The payment processor charges a fixed margin (discount rate) plus a transaction fee above interchange.

DOMAIN EXPERTISE

Many software providers do not realize that nonprofits qualify for reduced interchange. Your payments partner should have a proven track record of success serving the nonprofit sector to ensure organizations qualify for these special rates. Your partner should offer “bundle-andsave” pricing for credit and ACH transactions.

80% conversion rate

A leading specialty vertical ISV converted its customer portfolio in less than six months because of Nuvei’s fair and transparent merchant pricing.

A proven track record

All payment companies have their strengths and areas of expertise. Look for a partner who has a proven track record in donor management.

Here are a few items that should be on your checklist:

. A vertically tailored approach to partnership with an understanding of the challenges facing nonprofits.

. Experience powering payments for some of the largest political, social, and nonprofit giving campaigns and causes.

. Sales and marketing programs and supporting resources to help partners convert existing customer portfolios and drive new software sales.

. A proven track record of helping donor management software providers make payments a leading revenue stream.

With 25+ years of industry experience combined with our vertical market focus, Nuvei deeply understands the needs of donor management ISVs and the nonprofits they serve.

Flexible Partnership Programs

IIf you’re like many ISVs, you’ve either been with your current provider for years or have chosen to not offer integrated payments.

And, while the payments industry (and your business) has evolved by leaps and bounds, it’s likely your partnership structure has remained the same or it’s been a while since you’ve explored adding payments to your application.

Does your current setup still meet your needs, or could you be better served and better serve your users?

When selecting a payments partner, recognize that what you needed at inception, what you need today, and what you will need in 24 months are all likely different.

Select a partner with flexible program structures designed to evolve as you win business together.

Here are the structures your partner should support:

REFERRAL PARTNERSHIPS

Allow ISVs to stay focused on core business with a partner handling payments by your side. Referrals are sent to the payments partner and residuals from merchant transaction profits create a lucrative revenue stream.

MANAGED PAYFAC

Managed payment facilitation gives ISVs the perks of frictionless boarding and instant auto-approvals but leaves the risks, liabilities, and costs to the payments partner.

TRADITIONAL PAYFAC

ISVs who elect to become payment facilitators receive maximum revenue earning potential and are responsible for controlling sales and operations while also assuming all costs, risks, and responsibility for the entire payments process.

ISO PROGRAMS

Independent sales organization (ISO) programs allow you to market your solution directly to your customer base under your name for a cohesive customer experience.

ISVs rate Nuvei’s platform integration

80% simpler than their previous payment integrations.

After checking these boxes, dive in to understand what is required to transition between program structures.

Oftentimes, ISVs must integrate to different processing platforms—a disruptive and time-consuming process.

Look for a partner who supports all program types through a single platform to allow for easy transitions through all stages of program maturity.

Service and Support

The third-party partners you choose for your software act as a direct extension of your business which means customer support philosophies, and service levels should align.

In addition to offering world-class merchant services, it’s also imperative that your partnership is managed by the same standard. Here’s what to look for:

A dedicated team of subject matter experts is assigned to support the partnership — Inside Sales, Marketing, Operations, Integration, and Account Management should all be included.

100% satisfied customers

In 2021, all of Nuvei customers surveyed said they would hire their customer support advisor.

Easy to implement, turnkey, and custom marketing programs are available (at no expense) —to help you capture market share and easily drive customer payments adoption.

Quarterly strategic planning sessions and business reviews are held to define goals and objectives and track against progress.

Support when it matters most. If something goes wrong on Saturday evening, do you have someone to call, who will answer the phone, take ownership, and make it right?

Payments designed to accelerate your business

NUVEI KNOWS DONOR MANAGEMENT

For years, we have powered payment acceptance for thousands of nonprofits by working in true alliance with leading ISVs in this space.

Software providers choose Nuvei because of our innovative payment solutions that empower our clients and partners to drive exceptional commerce experiences.

We leverage best-in-class technologies to address today’s needs and

tomorrow’s opportunities. Our simple, straightforward yet thoughtfully designed programs make strong growth and profitability possible.

If you are looking for a highly specialized partner to level up your offering and make payments your leading revenue stream, we’d love to talk.

Come see why over 100,000 customers, across 2,000 plus industry partners trust Nuvei to power their payments.

ABOUT NUVEI

Nuvei (Nasdaq: NVEI) (TSX: NVEI) is the Canadian fintech company accelerating the business of clients around the world. Nuvei’s modular, flexible and scalable technology allows leading companies to accept next-gen payments, offer all payout options and benefit from card issuing, banking, risk and fraud management services.

Connecting businesses to their customers in more than 200 markets, with local acquiring in 45+ markets, 150 currencies and more than 600+ alternative payment methods, Nuvei provides the technology and insights for customers and partners to succeed locally and globally with one integration.

For more information, visit nuvei.com/