People have asked me about using paypal on their websites. For churches, it really is a great option for online giving, because its a service that doesn't cost you anything to offer, unless it is used. Right now it charges 2.9% per transaction and $0.30. So, if I give 100 bucks through pay pal the church only receives $98.60 of the offering. That is not too bad, but if someone were to give $1,000, the church would only receive $987.70. In this case, you would want them to use a different payment method. For us, paypal catches a few people who would not otherwise give. Some college students who have graduated and moved away still continue to give via paypal every month. Most regular givers use a different method.

1. Go to http://www.paypal.com.

2. Sign up for an free account if you don't have one yet. Just follow the instructions and you will do all fine.

3. Once your PayPal account is active, log in.

4. Go to the Merchant Tools section. Look for the Accepting Website Payments section. Click then on a link called Donations.

5. Provide the information that is asked to set up your donation button.

6. You can also add more options, such as providing a thank you page, cancellation page and some other stuff.

7. Ready? Then click on Create Button Now.

8. Copy the HTML code and paste it on your blog or website template.

9. Now you just have to encourage your readers to use your donation button to send their donations.