Paying Tithing Using LDS Online Donations

[dean.n.ormsby]

For years now we’ve been using BPAY in Australia to pay tithing. Was very quick and simple and allowed money to be transferred from my account immediately. We’ve been notified that BPAY will be discontinued and we have to start using donations.lds.org to pay our tithing.

Personally, I find this way of paying tithing challenging. I submit a donation online and it’s sometimes taken a week for the payment to be processed. We’ve been counseled to always pay our tithing first yet I feel like the system doesn’t make this possible. I’m stuck having to wait for donations to be processed with my bank and in some cases I have a flood of bills come through during the week and then there isn’t enough funds left in my account to have my donation processed.

I’m really hoping there is a faster and easier way to processing online donations...

[lajackson]

I’m really hoping there is a faster and easier way to processing online donations...

The Church credits you with having made the donation on the day you submit the donation for processing. That is about as fast as it gets, in my opinion.

Now I can see where there may be some confusion because the amount does not immediately come out of a bank account. But that just means that person is managing the bank account based on the actual reported bank balance instead of keeping track of pending charges that have been authorized to be paid by the account. Even many electronic payments do not immediately get charged to an account.

I am old enough to remember needing to keep a ledger of checks I had written, because at some point they were going to be presented to the bank and taken out of my account. I would never dream of writing a mortgage check, mailing it, and then spending the money because the check has not cleared the account. I deducted the amount of the payment from my bank ledger and did not spend the money again.

That seems to me to be a pretty basic accounting responsibility for anyone using a bank account. Even in today's electronic age, there are many transactions that take a few days to process and do not immediately come out of an account. It would be no different than if you set a bank bill pay payment to take place a week or so later. You wouldn't spend the money again just because it wasn't going to come out of your account until a number of days in the future.

But as for when you have paid your tithing using the Church site, you have paid when you submit, as long as you do not spend the money again for something else while the Church is processing the actual transaction through the bank clearing house system (ACH in the U.S., and probably something similar in Australia). It is no different than writing a check.

[tadams1977]

I am with you!
I am beyond frustrated right now.
Paying via Bpay was so much easier and the funds left your bank account immediately!

Now you have to wait for the church to take it out which could take 2-3 or more days.

Cheques are not a big thing here (in Australia) like they are in the USA .. only business' use them, people don't use them for personal use.

My pay was always the same, so with Bpay I could set it up to come out each fortnight when my pay came in and I didn't have to 'remember' to pay it, it just came out ... now I have to physically go and pay it each fortnight and then wait for a few days for the money to come out - this new way needs to be instant like Bpay was!

[davesudweeks]

I am with you!
I am beyond frustrated right now.
Paying via Bpay was so much easier and the funds left your bank account immediately!

Now you have to wait for the church to take it out which could take 2-3 or more days.

Cheques are not a big thing here (in Australia) like they are in the USA .. only business' use them, people don't use them for personal use.

My pay was always the same, so with Bpay I could set it up to come out each fortnight when my pay came in and I didn't have to 'remember' to pay it, it just came out ... now I have to physically go and pay it each fortnight and then wait for a few days for the money to come out - this new way needs to be instant like Bpay was!

None of the decision makers visit this user-to-user help forum. If you want your request/concern to be considered, you need to provide feedback on the page where you donate online. You will likely not receive an individualized response, but others on the forum closer to this than I am have provided assurance that every feedback is read and passed to those who consider the priorities of the programmers.

[leikaylem]

I totally agree too. This is my 2nd time using it.
It takes time to sign in. Send it off, then wait for a few days for it to go out.
Its simple, but not the processing part of it. ( my took at least 4 days even when banking on Monday)
I think the fastest way is to pay via bishop? But still not quite convenient as bpay.
It’s a bit frustrating to be honest, BPay was so much quicker, withdrew from your account instantly. (Which is what I prefer, instantly)
Sometimes i used to pay via bpay on the weekend, due to hubby working Saturdays, and I had no problem it been withdrawn immediately.
I hope they reconsider tithe paying for us in Australia.

[EllyCooper]

Hi, I’m from Nz. I’m quite disappointed with the new online donations system that the church has in place. It was quite the task trying to set it up for my elderly in-laws as they can barely remember usernames or passwords to actually get onto their lds accounts. Also, there is no option to delete an account or reuse and amount I’ve made in the past? I’ve looked up FAQ and these options are meant to be available. Can someone please help? I’m quite frustrated with the whole thing quite frankly. Now I’m having to go into the bank today to see if I can open a second chequing account for our donations only as the delay in clearing the funds is so slow. Can we please go back to the old way of doing it via our own bank AP’s?

[davesudweeks]

Hi, I’m from Nz. I’m quite disappointed with the new online donations system that the church has in place. It was quite the task trying to set it up for my elderly in-laws as they can barely remember usernames or passwords to actually get onto their lds accounts. Also, there is no option to delete an account or reuse and amount I’ve made in the past? I’ve looked up FAQ and these options are meant to be available. Can someone please help? I’m quite frustrated with the whole thing quite frankly. Now I’m having to go into the bank today to see if I can open a second chequing account for our donations only as the delay in clearing the funds is so slow. Can we please go back to the old way of doing it via our own bank AP’s?

You might ask your clerk for assistance. Perhaps your clerk can explain the nuances in the NZ system that will make sense.

I am in the USA so can't speak for what you see in NZ, but I have accounts in two different institutions saved so I can choose from either for my online donations. It is very easy on the US system to add a new account (or delete an old one) and the accounts added are available to choose from for a future donation. I can select any recent donation and "reuse" it (I don't know how far back I can go to reuse a prior donation, but at least several of the most recent). I can reuse a prior donation and then make any changes I want (including the account used) before submitting it.

I understand the challenge for some in remembering user names and passwords, but when dealing with financial information that is not a trivial matter. Passwords can be changed if the ones they have are too difficult.

[Lindaq0220]

How do i get to the donation form to make donations. It seems like it is a different route every month

[drepouille]

https://donations.churchofjesuschrist.o ... tion/step1

[russellhltn]

That's one way. Another is to go to the main page at churchofjesuschrist.org, go to "my account and ward". If you're on a big screen, it will be in the upper right. On a small screen, you have to touch the "three bar" icon on the left.

From there, select "donations".