Dive Brief:
- Online donation company Vanco and church management software provider ACS Technologies are merging to better service their religious organization customers, the companies said in a press release last week.
- As part of the merger, Vanco will operate under the ACS Technologies branding, and its payments capabilities will be integrated into ACS Technologies’ digital software, the Dec. 3 press release said.
- Today, Minneapolis-based Vanco and Florence, South Carolina-based ACS combined serve some 40,000 churches and ministries in total, the release noted. A spokesperson for Vanco declined to comment on financial terms of the merger.
Dive Insight:
Vanco and ACS Technologies have each worked in the field for decades, developing their experience in meeting the needs of faith-based organizations. Prior to the combination, Vanco had about 250 employees, but its headcount will swell to about 600 after the transaction, according to the spokesperson.
While ACS Technologies spent nearly five decades managing memberships, donations, accounting, mission trips and engagement, Vanco has facilitated secure digital transactions and helped faith and educational organizations oversee administrative tasks for some 30 years, per the press release.
Once the two companies come together as one, they’ll be able to serve ministries, schools and nonprofits better, Jim McGinnis, chief executive officer of Vanco, said in a press release.
“Churches have told us they want one place to turn for a full suite of services and solutions that simply work,” Joe Koehling, chief executive officer of ACS Technologies, said in the release. “Bringing ACST’s ministry experience together with Vanco’s trusted payments lets staff and volunteers spend more time with people and less time on systems. It’s a practical step forward—one that reflects our shared commitment to serve the Church with care and reliability.”
Before combining with ACS Technologies, Vanco began another partnership to help its faith-based clientele. Last year, the company teamed up with Faith Park, a company that helps churches monetize their parking spaces, according to a February 2024 press release. That link allowed Faith Park to access Vanco’s national network of organizations and harness its payment processing services, the release noted.
Other payments companies also focus attention on the faith and nonprofit market. Redmond, Washington-based Pushpay primarily manages donations to faith-based charities, though it is beginning to work with streaming content providers, its CEO Kenny Wyatt told Payments Dive in May. Wyatt joined Pushpay as its president in June 2024 and became its chief executive in April.
Larger companies are also in the arena. For instance, Philadelphia-based payments gateway player FreedomPay said this week it began offering a new digital tool to enable charitable donations during the checkout process.
