Blackbaud Merchant Services
Nonprofit payment gateway software
Nonprofit software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
Take the quiz to check if Blackbaud Merchant Services and its alternatives fit your requirements.
Pay-as-you-go
Free Trial unavailableFree version unavailable
Small
Medium
Large
- Public sector and nonprofit organizations
- Healthcare and life sciences
- Information technology and software
What is Blackbaud Merchant Services
Blackbaud Merchant Services is a payment processing and merchant services offering designed for nonprofits that accept donations and other payments through Blackbaud fundraising and CRM products. It supports card-present and card-not-present transactions and is typically used to connect online donation forms, event registrations, and recurring giving to a nonprofit’s constituent and gift records. The product is positioned for organizations already using Blackbaud applications that want integrated payment processing and reconciliation within the same vendor ecosystem.
Tight Blackbaud product integration
Blackbaud Merchant Services is built to work with Blackbaud fundraising and nonprofit management applications, reducing the need for custom payment integrations. This can streamline gift posting, donor record association, and operational workflows compared with using a separate gateway. For organizations standardizing on Blackbaud, the integrated approach can reduce vendor management and support handoffs.
Supports multiple nonprofit payment use cases
The service is used for common nonprofit payment scenarios such as one-time donations, recurring gifts, event registrations, and other online payments. It can also support in-person payments depending on the connected Blackbaud modules and hardware options. This breadth helps organizations avoid stitching together different processors for different fundraising channels.
Centralized reporting and reconciliation
When used within the Blackbaud environment, payment activity can be aligned with fundraising records for reporting and reconciliation. This can simplify finance workflows by reducing manual matching between processor exports and donor systems. It is particularly relevant for teams that need consistent audit trails across fundraising and accounting processes.
Best fit inside Blackbaud stack
Organizations not using Blackbaud fundraising or CRM tools may find the value proposition weaker than gateway-first alternatives. Integration benefits depend on which Blackbaud products are in use and how they are configured. Non-Blackbaud environments may require additional workarounds or separate tooling for donor management and reporting.
Pricing and terms can be complex
Merchant services pricing often includes multiple components (processing rates, platform fees, chargeback fees, and add-ons), and total cost can vary by payment mix and volume. Nonprofits may need careful review of contract terms, settlement timing, and any minimums. This can make cost comparisons against other nonprofit-focused payment options less straightforward.
Less flexibility for custom payment flows
Organizations with highly customized donation experiences or bespoke integrations may find constraints compared with more developer-centric gateways. Capabilities and configuration options can depend on the specific Blackbaud modules and supported integration points. Teams seeking extensive API-level control may need to validate requirements early.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go (transaction-based)
Free tier/trial: No permanent free plan; no time-limited free trial found on official site.
Example processing rates (official Blackbaud pages):
-
USD (U.S. dollars):
- Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Diners Club, JCB: 2.99% + $0.30 per transaction (USD). cite
- American Express: 3.50% + $0.30 per transaction (USD). cite
- ACH / Direct Debit: 1.00% + $0.30 per transaction (USD), capped at $5.00; returned transaction fee $5.00 (USD). cite
- PayPal: 2.90% + $0.30 per transaction (USD). cite
- Standard chargeback fee: $15.00 (USD). cite
-
Tap to Pay for iPhone (U.S.): an additional $0.15 per Tap to Pay transaction; example shown as Visa/Mastercard 2.99% + $0.45 (USD) (i.e., $0.30 + $0.15). cite
-
Other currencies (official summary):
- CAD: Visa/MasterCard 2.79% + $0.30 CAD; Amex 3.50% + $0.30 CAD; PayPal 2.9% + $0.30 CAD. cite
- GBP/EUR: Typically 2.79% + £/€0.20 for Visa/MasterCard; Amex 3.50% + £/€0.20; PayPal 2.9% + £/€0.20. cite
- AUD/NZD: Rates for AUD/NZD are listed as "dependent on transaction volume" and customers are asked to contact Blackbaud for specifics. cite
Other fees & notes (official):
- Setup: $0; Monthly: $0 (for tiered integrated processing offering). cite
- Payment Enablement Fee: Blackbaud documents a "payment enablement fee" (a monthly fee invoiced annually) that applies to customers using Blackbaud payment-enabled solutions; the official page describes the fee but does not state a universal dollar amount — organizations should contact Blackbaud for applicability/amount. cite
- Gateway interconnect fees (when processing through supported third-party gateways): example official pricing shows $0.35/transaction (USD) invoiced monthly with a $25/month minimum; regional currency equivalents and annual options for certain segments (K-12) are listed on the official interconnect-fees page. cite
- Fee-cover programs (affect donor/organization cost): Blackbaud offers Donor Cover and Complete Cover™ options (Complete Cover can make eligible online transactions free to the organization up to 3,000 in the organization’s home currency when enabled). These are feature/setting options rather than separate subscription tiers. cite
How pricing is provided / custom elements:
- Blackbaud states that some rates (especially for AUD/NZD and volume-dependent pricing) are provided upon request and will be included in the contract — organizations may need to contact Blackbaud sales for a tailored quote. cite
Seller details
Blackbaud, Inc.
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
1981
Public
https://www.blackbaud.com/
https://x.com/blackbaud
https://www.linkedin.com/company/blackbaud/
