Transaction Fees
Donations can be made by bank transfer (0% fee), by cheque/check (0% fee) or online
(average fee 2.35%, see below).
Preferred donation methods
The balance we have struck is to suggest for donations equivalent to $5,000 or more,
bank transfer or check/cheque donations are preferred*, assuming it is convenient
for the donor to do so, to minimise fees. For donations below this amount, online credit/debit
card is the preferred method.
Online donations
Unfortunately we cannot take online donations without incurring a fee, albeit a
reduced one in most cases. The table below shows the fees charged for each payment
method and what this translates to for varying donation amounts in various currencies.
| | | % Fee | Flat Fee | US$ 3 | US$ 10 | US$ 30 | US$ 50 | US$ 100 | US$ 500 | |
|
Mastercard - Credit
|
2.25%
|
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
|
|
Visa
|
2.25%
|
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
|
|
|
|
Mastercard - Debit
|
3.00%
|
|
3.00%
|
3.00%
|
3.00%
|
3.00%
|
3.00%
|
3.00%
|
|
|
PayPal US$
|
2.20%
|
0.30
|
12.20%
|
5.20%
|
3.20%
|
2.80%
|
2.50%
|
2.26%
|
|
|
|
Amex US$*
|
3.20%
|
0.15
|
8.20%
|
4.70%
|
3.70%
|
3.50%
|
3.35%
|
3.23%
|
|
* We do not accept US$ donations via American Express as their fees are currently too high.
| | | % Fee | Flat Fee | £ 2 | £ 5 | £ 20 | £ 50 | £ 100 | £ 500 | |
|
|
Amex £
|
0.50%
|
|
0.50%
|
0.50%
|
0.50%
|
0.50%
|
0.50%
|
0.50%
|
|
|
|
|
Mastercard - Debit
|
1.75%
|
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
|
|
|
Visa
|
1.75%
|
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
1.75%
|
|
|
|
|
Mastercard - Credit
|
2.25%
|
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
2.25%
|
|
|
|
PayPal £/€/US$
|
1.40%
|
0.20
|
11.40%
|
5.40%
|
2.40%
|
1.80%
|
1.60%
|
1.44%
|
|
It is a great shame credit card companies charge registered charities fees on donations.
We hope they will, at some point, take the decision to 'zero rate' credit/debit donations to registered charities.
*Bank transfer and cheque/check donations have an admin cost
There are no fees for amounts received via bank transfer or cheque/check. However,
we would not want all donations to come via bank transfer or cheque/check as there
is an administration requirement for both of these mechanisms. This is because we list all donations on our website so we can
link individual donations to specific distributions so donors can follow
exactly where the nets they fund are distributed.
100% buys nets
We state '100% buys nets' and we believe most people understand that as "If I give
you $100, you'll buy $100 of nets" and that is what happens. We receive funds in
various different ways. On average, for every $100 donated we buy $103.10 in nets.
A 103.1% message would be unnecessarily confusing so we do not use it.
We lose on average 2.35% in credit card fees. We backfill more than the fees with
bank interest and Gift Aid. Many, perhaps most, charities use bank interest
and similar revenue streams for central costs rather than to fund the core aid element
they deliver so backfilling in this way is not the norm.
|
|
Credit/Debit card donation
|
Other donation*
|
Across all donations
|
|
Donor gives
|
$100.00
|
$100.00
|
$100.00
|
|
Fees
|
$2.35
|
$0.00
|
$0.80
|
|
|
$97.65
|
$100.00
|
$99.20
|
|
Bank interest**
|
$1.10
|
$1.10
|
$1.10
|
|
UK Gift Aid**
|
$2.85
|
$2.85
|
$2.85
|
|
Total
|
$101.60
|
$103.95
|
$103.10
|