Payouts, fees, and where your money goes
How gifts reach your church's bank, when payouts arrive, the processing fees that apply on card and bank gifts, the difference between free and paid plans for online giving, and how "cover the fees" helps your church keep more.
Once giving is live, money moves on its own — from the giver, into your church's bank account. This guide explains the timing and the costs so there are no surprises.
How money reaches you
Gifts settle into your church's own Stripe balance and are then paid out to your bank account on a regular schedule. Your Giving page shows the essentials at a glance:
- Available balance — what's cleared and on its way to your bank.
- This month — how much your church has received this calendar month, counted from your giving records (so it's always accurate).
- Next payout — when the next deposit is headed to your bank.
Your Giving page also shows your connected payout bank, your payout schedule, and your recent payouts for reference. To change the bank or schedule, use the Manage payouts link, which opens your Stripe dashboard — that's where banking lives.
The two kinds of fees
There are two separate things to understand. Keep them apart and the rest is simple.
1. Stripe's processing fee (always applies)
Every online payment has a processing fee, charged by Stripe for moving the money. Because your church is the merchant of record, your church covers it — it's deducted automatically, so you never get a bill. The rates depend on how the gift was given:
- Card — roughly 2.9% + 30¢ per gift.
- Bank account (ACH) — about 0.8%, capped at $5.00 per gift.
That cap is why bank giving is dramatically cheaper on larger gifts — a $1,000 card gift costs around $29 to process, while the same gift by bank transfer costs just $5. It's worth encouraging your congregation to give straight from their bank when they can.
2. The Psalmly platform fee (depends on your plan)
This is Psalmly's part, and it's tied to your subscription:
- Free plan — Psalmly adds a small platform fee (around 2%) on each gift. It's how the free plan stays free.
- Community and Growth plans — 0% Psalmly platform fee. Paid churches keep more of every gift; removing this fee is one of the perks of subscribing.
Online giving itself is available on every plan, including free — only this platform fee differs. Your Giving page always shows a footnote making clear which applies to you.
"Cover the fees" — keeping gifts whole
When members give, they can choose to cover the fees. When they do, Psalmly gently adds the processing fee on top of their gift, so your church receives close to the full amount they intended to give. Many givers happily opt in. It's their choice, gift by gift — there's nothing for you to configure.
Seeing the breakdown
Want to see exactly what a single gift cost and what landed for your church? Open any gift in the Recent gifts table to see its amount, the estimated processing fee, and the net to your church. See Tracking gifts, refunds, and reports.
For the precise, to-the-penny fee history and your payout statements, your Stripe dashboard is the system of record — Psalmly links you there whenever you need it.