THE BASICS

1. Why does St Zepherin's want to enroll in electronic transfers?

The Finance Committee and the Pastoral Council have instituted the program to stabilize the weekly offertory.  Donation amounts can fluctuate significantly week to week, making it difficult to plan and budget.  One snowy weekend can set our annual budget behind by thousands of dollars.  We have contracted with Parish Pay, which is the largest religious donation payment processor in the country in order to provide the infrastructure, technology, and support to process regular stewardship gifts to our Church.  These gifts come out of a parishioners' bank or credit card account. The program has been written about in over 500 newspapers and magazines and it was felt to have very reasonable costs.

2. What day are transfers made?
Recurring monthly gifts are taken on the 5th of the month or the following business day after the 5th in the case of the 5th falling on a weekend or holiday. We send out monthly email reminders to parishioners to let them know about the deduction.

3. Can this date be changed?
No. All automatic donations are processed on the 5th of the month, or if the 5th is not a business day, then the following business day.  However, you can always make a one-time donation at anytime of the month.

4. Can deductions come out weekly?
Although most church collections do happen on a weekly basis, stewardship experts have found that those that are committing gifts on a monthly basis instead of a weekly basis support their parish with more of their resources.

5.  What about special collections and the building fund?  I like to contribute to these each month. 

You will not receive regular offertory envelopes after about 1-2 months on the program, but will receive special collection envelopes by mail to be deposited in the regular collection. You may contribute to the building fund at Parish Pay.  Please call the office if you are still receiving weekly envelopes after 2 months.

ENROLLMENT

1. What Payment Methods are accepted?
Parishioners can donate using Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. They can also contribute through bank transfers. Currently, 56% of parishioners use bank transfers and 44% of parishioners use credit cards.

2. Is there a maximum gift amount?
Parish Pay has processed donations for $30,000 and $40,000 - there is no maximum amount that we can process on an individual transaction or as a monthly amount.

3. Is there a minimum amount?
We suggest contributing to Parish Pay only if your donation is over $10.00.

4. Different Enrollment Methods
Parishioners can enroll on commitment cards that are distributed at the back of the church or by going online to enroll by visiting ParishPay.com or by clicking the link at the bottom of our StZepherin.org website

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

1. How do parishioners manage accounts?
Parishioners can log in to their account by using the login area at the top of Parish Pay's website. Once logged in, parishioners will have the option of altering their gift, adding additional gifts or collections, and deleting their account.  Parishioners also can see gifts provided to their parish year to date and print up annual giving statements.

2. Do parishioners have to re-specify their donation each year?
No. Once parishioners are enrolled in the Parish Pay program they do not have to re-enroll every year. We provide the Parish with simple tools so that they may remind parishioners to annually increase their gifts if they have the means to do so.

3. Do parishioners receive receipts for tax purposes?
Parishioners can print statements once they've logged in.

4. How about something to put in the plate?
Parish Pay understands the important part of the presentation of gifts during church services. To offer the same reflection process, we provide parishioners donation slips, which are tear-off postcard-sized coupons to represent that week's gift.  

5. When can parishioners change gifts?
Up until the 3rd day of every month.

6. How do parishioners discontinue the service?
Parishioners can log in and delete their gifts or contact their parish to delete them. Again, the change cannot take place after the 3rd of the month in order to affect the same month.

COST OF THE SERVICES

1. Who does Parish Pay charge?
Parish Pay withholds its fee before transferring it to the parish. For tax purposes, the parishioner is still credited with 100% of the donation. Thus, the parish is technically "charged."

2. How much does Parish Pay charge?
For every new parish, the first three enrollment months are free.
Once the program has been successfully rolled-out, Parish Pay withholds $1.00 and 1.5% from each parishioner's monthly transaction.

For example, if you donated $200 a month, Parish Pay would charge $4.00. St Zepherin's will save money on envelope costs, postage and administrative fees.

3. How much are the credit card charges?
Parish Pay passes through their very low negotiated credit card charges directly to you, without adding anything to it.

MasterCard: 2.5%
Visa: 2.5%
American Express: 2.5%
Discover: 2.5%