A seamless approach to accepting mobile donations by billing users’ cell phone accounts is available through different providers. To donate, individuals type a specified keyword to a designated number. ALL providers charge a $500 setup fee that goes to the Mobile Giving Foundation, which covers processing and security. Application, account setup, and live keyword process takes about 3-4 weeks. Remittances to organizations’ bank accounts are made within 60-90 days from the Mobile Giving Foundation.
With some research, I’ve found two organizations with transparent plans and pricing:
Give by Cell
$974 = $500 (setup) + $474 ($79/mo. for 6 mo. term)
$0.48 per donation (flat fee)
mGive
$2888 = $500 (setup) + $2388 ($199/mo. for 12 mo. term)
$0.35 per donation + 3.5 % card processing fee
An alternative approach is to send people text messages with links to mobile webforms, which users fill out with their payment information. One such provider is Obopay. While such a process isn’t as seamless, and considering not everyone has smartphones, it does make mobile commerce easy for whatever the purpose.