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For most Australian charities and community groups, volunteers using Tap to Pay on their own phones is a simpler and cheaper path than hiring EFTPOS terminals. There is no hardware to book, courier, charge or return, and every volunteer with a smartphone becomes a payment point. Hired terminals can still suit a staffed op shop counter or a single fixed point, but for roaming collectors, stalls and busy event days, phone payments usually win. This guide compares cost, logistics, receipts and reconciliation for both options.
What is the difference between hiring EFTPOS terminals and using a phone payment app at a fundraiser?
Hiring EFTPOS terminals means booking physical machines from a provider, paying a hire fee plus delivery and sometimes network charges, and returning the gear after the event. A phone payment app turns each volunteer's own iPhone or Android into a payment point using Tap to Pay, with no terminal to book or return. The practical difference on event day is how many people can take a payment at once, and who owns the hardware when something goes wrong.
What does EFTPOS hire actually cost a charity for an event?
Short-term EFTPOS hire usually bundles a hire fee per terminal, a courier fee for delivery and return, and sometimes a network or SIM fee per terminal. Those costs apply per unit, so they grow with every extra collection point you add. Longer-term rental through banks and terminal providers runs to a monthly cost per terminal, and some contracts lock you in for 12 to 36 months, as covered in our guide to EFTPOS machine rental costs. Hire fees sit on top of whatever the provider charges to process each payment, so ask for the full cost per terminal per event before you book.
What logistics does hiring terminals add on event day?
Hired terminals must be ordered ahead, delivered by courier, signed for, charged, and returned afterwards. Many hire services also need a merchant facility from your bank before they will dispatch anything, which adds a setup step before your first event. Kits often include a SIM and paper rolls, so someone has to manage consumables and roll changes across the day. Compare that with volunteers using their own phones: nothing to receive, nothing to return, nothing to lose.
How many volunteers can take payments at once with each option?
Hired terminals are a fixed pool. Five terminals means five payment points, no matter how many collectors you have. Every extra unit is another cost and another thing to track, and some event payment providers set minimum revenue thresholds before they will supply terminals at all, which can rule out smaller fundraisers. With a phone app, every volunteer who brings a phone becomes a payment point, so a street appeal or fun run can have dozens collecting at once. More payment points means shorter queues and fewer donors walking away at a gala or stall.
What happens with battery, connectivity and receipts?
Hire terminals rely on their own battery and a mobile SIM, so a long event day means charging plans and coverage checks at the venue. Volunteers' phones are already charged and connected, and Tap to Pay runs on a device they already know how to use.
Receipts are the bigger difference. A hired terminal prints a paper docket, which is fine for a coffee van but awkward when a supporter buys a raffle ticket, makes a donation and grabs a sausage in one go. Donors need a receipt that clearly shows the donation as a separate, tax-deductible gift, while raffle tickets, merchandise and food are not deductible. Ask any provider how itemised receipts and DGR wording are handled before you book. Paper rolls run out, get lost and cannot be reissued. Digital receipts can be resent.
How do you reconcile totals across many collectors and locations?
With hired terminals, end-of-day reconciliation means matching each terminal's batch to a collector, then adding it all up manually. Multi-site charities running op shops, branches and events need totals by location and by collector, not one lump sum. Ask whether the provider gives you a live dashboard across all terminals, or just end-of-day settlement reports. A phone-based platform can show live totals by event and collector while the appeal is still running, which lets coordinators spot a quiet stall or a missing volunteer. Reconciliation should be one screen, not a spreadsheet built from paper dockets.
How does Pebl Collect replace hired terminals for charity fundraisers?
Pebl Collect is the Pebl app for charities, not-for-profits, P&Cs, clubs and community groups. There are no setup or monthly fees, and card payments settle in 2 business days. Volunteers accept card, phone and watch payments with Tap to Pay on their own iPhone or Android, with no EFTPOS terminal or rental hardware.
One tap can cover a donation, raffle ticket, merchandise and food, with a single itemised receipt that shows the donation separately so it meets ATO requirements for a tax-deductible gift where your charity has DGR status. QR code donations let you print a code on a collection tin, lanyard, table sign or event program, and those gifts land in the same live totals. Pebl for Teams lets you run donations across many volunteers, events, op shops and branches from one dashboard, with live totals by collector and location.
What should a charity check before choosing between terminal hire and a phone app?
- How many payment points you need at peak, and whether hire can match it.
- Whether you already hold a merchant facility, and how long bank setup will take before your event date.
- The total event cost, including hire, courier, network fees and any minimum revenue requirement.
- Receipt quality: can one transaction cover several items with the donation shown as a tax-deductible gift?
- Reconciliation: live totals by collector and location, or end-of-day batch reports?
- Battery, coverage and consumables across a full event day.
These checks apply whether you are running a gala, a fun run, a street appeal or a school fete.
Frequently asked questions
Can we hire EFTPOS terminals for a one-day fundraiser?
Yes, short-term hire is available in Australia, but plan around minimum hire periods, courier lead times and returning the units afterwards.
Do we need a merchant facility to hire a terminal?
Many short-term hire services require one before dispatch, so check this early.
Can volunteers use their own phones instead?
Yes. With Pebl Collect, volunteers use Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, with no hardware to hire.
Can a supporter pay for a raffle ticket and make a donation in one tap?
Yes. Pebl issues one itemised receipt for the whole transaction. The donation is shown separately so it can be claimed as a tax-deductible gift where your charity has DGR status. Raffle tickets, merchandise and food are not tax-deductible.
How long does settlement take with Pebl?
Card payments settle in 2 business days.
Key takeaways
- Short-term EFTPOS hire usually combines a per-terminal hire fee, a courier fee and sometimes a network fee, and the cost grows with every collection point.
- Many hire services need a merchant facility from your bank before dispatch.
- Hired terminals are a fixed pool, so the number of payment points is capped by how many units you book.
- Pebl Collect has no setup or monthly fees, and card payments settle in 2 business days.
- One tap can cover a donation, raffle ticket, merchandise and food, with the donation shown separately on a single itemised receipt.
