I am glad to announce that we can now accept credit and debit cards on this website. This is very helpful for a number of reasons:
- members can use it to pay their sustentation,
- visitors (and members) can use it to make donations,
- wedding couples can use it to pay for photography in St. Nicholas (something that happens on a regular basis, especially in the summer), and
- if a couple from outside our parishes is holding their wedding in one of our parishes, they can pay the fee on this site.
There are pages on the website for each of these uses, each linked in the list above. Or click on Donations at the top of the page and you can choose which of these you wish.
Accepting cards is more convenient and safer than relying on cash in many of the instances. For example, wedding couples having photos taken at St. Nicholas until now have had to figure out how to get cash to me (which usually means dropping by the Rectory), and then I have to get it to the Treasurer for lodgement.
In another instance, a visitor to Ireland wanted to make a sizeable donation to St. Nicholas for our building program. However, she had already returned to the States. So, after a bit of correspondence, I had to send her the BIC and IBAN numbers for a transfer. From a distance, it is easier to use a credit or debit card.
And where does the money go? Anything paid through this site is lodged first to St. Nicholas's account. If people are making donations or paying sustentation to any of the other churches, then the Treasurer of St. Nicholas will write a cheque to that church.
And, I will add a huge Thank You to Caroline deBurca Murphy, who is the new Treasurer of St. Nicholas.
The company that this all goes through is Stripe. It is a new company based in the States, but founded by two lads from Limerick.