Automatic Payments

Discussions about the Online Donation system.
Nicolecloward
New Member
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 1:04 pm

Automatic Payments

#1

Post by Nicolecloward »

I have a fixed income. My tithing stays the same each month. Can I set up automatic payments online? I'd rather do this than what I've been doing. I have my bank send checks automatically to my Bishop each month. It would be nice to eliminate this and set up an auto payment.

Is this already a feature? If not can you add it?

Nicole
[Phone number removed]
Last edited by russellhltn on Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Removed phone number
davesudweeks
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Posts: 2637
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 9:16 pm
Location: Washington, USA

Re: Automatic Payments

#2

Post by davesudweeks »

I don't know about setting it to automatic payments, but you can "reuse" a prior online donation. So if you donate the same amount each month, you can select the last online donation and it will be all filled out with the same information for the current date. Then you just hit "submit."
eblood66
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Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:17 am
Location: Cumming, GA, USA

Re: Automatic Payments

#3

Post by eblood66 »

Scheduled/automatic payments are not supported for the online system. You can make that request by using the feedback link at the bottom of the donations page but I'm sure they have had that request multiple times before. Generally the church doesn't indicate before hand what changes, if any, they plan on making to online systems.
russellhltn
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Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:53 pm
Location: U.S.

Re: Automatic Payments

#4

Post by russellhltn »

As far as I know, there's currently no way to set up automatic payments. I know it's been requested before, but I have no idea to what extent it's being considered.

Considering that donations are non-refundable, automatic payments could cause a serious problem if the income should suddenly change for any reason. Especially if that change is associated with events the prevent timely changes to the payments.
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MartynGillBaldwin
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Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:42 pm

Re: Automatic Payments

#5

Post by MartynGillBaldwin »

I'm in the Uk and wish to pay my donations by Direct Debit (they are currently paid by Standing Order). The amount would be the same each month. Is this possible to do?
lajackson
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Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:27 pm
Location: US

Re: Automatic Payments

#6

Post by lajackson »

MartynGillBaldwin wrote:I'm in the Uk and wish to pay my donations by Direct Debit (they are currently paid by Standing Order). The amount would be the same each month. Is this possible to do?
Direct Debit requires that the organization request the funds from the bank. This actually is what happens with Online Donations. However, the Church Online Donation system does not support multiple or recurring contributions. You have to go online each time and make the donation.

So if you wish to send your contributions automatically, you will need to keep the Standing Order in place at the bank and let the bank send the donation on a regular basis. If you are willing to go into the Church Online Donation system on a regular basis, you will be using Direct Debit, but you will have to initiate the donation each time.

For the benefit of those in the U.S., in the UK a Standing Order is similar to a regularly scheduled/repeating bank Bill Payment, and Direct Debit is similar to an organization-requested ACH payment.
chriswoodut
Member
Posts: 417
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:42 am
Location: Utah

Re: Automatic Payments

#7

Post by chriswoodut »

Any idea if repeating donations will ever be available? I had a member ask about how to do auto payments for a son's mission. The only way to automatically do it (that I can think of) is to use a bank's bill pay system to send a physical check to the bishop every month and he brings it to church and we deposit it. That seems like a lot of extra steps just because there is no repeating donation option. (website is down right now so I'm going from memory... I assume people can donate to e specific missionary on the website right now)
davesudweeks
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Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 9:16 pm
Location: Washington, USA

Re: Automatic Payments

#8

Post by davesudweeks »

One can take a prior donation and "repeat" it very easily in the donation system. It only takes a couple of clicks if the amount and accounts don't change. This is what I would recommend to a member who does not want to physically write checks. Yes, you can donate to a specific missionary's mission account (even in another ward in the US and some other countries).

I would advise against having the bank's bill pay system mail a check to the bishop. That forces him to manage their tithing slips for them and he really does not have time to do that (but he will do it and not complain). If they want to use bill pay as a reminder system, they could have the checks sent to themselves and then fill out the donation slip to hand to a bishopric member.
chriswoodut
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Posts: 417
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:42 am
Location: Utah

Re: Automatic Payments

#9

Post by chriswoodut »

davesudweeks wrote:One can take a prior donation and "repeat" it very easily in the donation system. It only takes a couple of clicks if the amount and accounts don't change. This is what I would recommend to a member who does not want to physically write checks. Yes, you can donate to a specific missionary's mission account (even in another ward in the US and some other countries).

I would advise against having the bank's bill pay system mail a check to the bishop. That forces him to manage their tithing slips for them and he really does not have time to do that (but he will do it and not complain). If they want to use bill pay as a reminder system, they could have the checks sent to themselves and then fill out the donation slip to hand to a bishopric member.
I suggested that as an alternative. It will end up being a clerk that fills out the slip, not the bishop, so for the Bishop he just needs to get the check to us. I suspect the person may be asking as a way to suggest to the ex-husband (father of the missionary) to be consistent in sending a check.
davesudweeks
Senior Member
Posts: 2637
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 9:16 pm
Location: Washington, USA

Re: Automatic Payments

#10

Post by davesudweeks »

You are correct that normally the bishop will hand it off to the clerk (I am the ward clerk in my ward). However, using this method is still not advised in my opinion.

The financial audits and controls are all based on making sure the money consecrated to the Lord is handled appropriately and as designated by the donor. When one hands off the responsibility of filling out the donation slip to a member of the bishopric or the clerk, how can one be sure their donation is handled as designated? If a question were to arise, we would go to the donation slip to make sure the donation was recorded as specified (with the assumption that the slip was filed out by the member).

I just completed working through a scenario like this over the past two years with a check, mailed to the bishop from a family outside of our ward, with instructions that the donor had to be kept anonymous to the missionary's family (the father was also a member of the bishopric). Every month we had to play musical chairs in the clerk's office to comply. Personally, I'm glad we don't have to deal with that every month now.
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