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Nowadays, many nonprofit organizations accept donations via credit card, which often means speedier collections of funds and larger donations. Meanwhile, donors appreciate the convenience of plastic and chance to earn perks if they give using their reward credit cards.

If you are considering accepting credit card donations for your nonprofit, there are a number of factors to weigh. First, think about the type of transactions you are most likely to encounter: recurring (such as monthly pledge payments) or one-time only, donor initiated (such as through your website) or with payment information entered by staff.

Also, evaluate the likelihood of having a physical credit card for you to swipe, and whether payments are for donations alone or involve a service like an event ticket or fund raising premium.

The type of payments your nonprofit decides to accept will drive your choice of processing technology. For example, in the case of a recurring monthly gift, you probably will not want to have to enter each donor's credit card information and payment amount into a credit card terminal each month. One of the most beneficial uses for electronic payment is automating the fulfillment of pledge payments or monthly giving programs.

Some solutions for processing credit cards do not require you to have your own merchant account, instead establishing a merchant account in the third-party name to process your transactions. But unless your organization only processes a few credit card transactions a month, it is generally better to have your own merchant account.

Potential problems with third-party processing can arise when the name that appears on a donor's credit card does not match that of your nonprofit -- which may result in the donor disputing the charges.

Other problems include the delayed receipt of funds, since processors usually only mail payments once or twice a month, as well as the risk of non-payment should the third-party processor fold. Finally, most third-party processors lack the flexibility to customize their payment forms, which can restrict your organization's ability to collect important information, such as the name of a person being honored for a memorial or honorarium.

When you compare various merchant account services providers, nonprofits should weigh all the various costs, ranging from the one-time to the ongoing. These costs may include one-time fees for setting up your merchant account, a monthly account fee, transaction fees per item and a discount rate that is a percentage of the transaction amount, as well as indirect costs such as the time needed for staff to enter credit card data.

Choosing to accept credit card donations can give a major boost to your nonprofit. As you consider the options, keep in mind that the simplicity, security, and administrative efficiency of your online process are generally the key features of a successful solution when accepting electronic payments.

Zed Miller, an expert business writer, regularly contributes his articles to various websites just to help merchants, small businesses and retail houses to expand their market base by accepting the prevailing mode of payments.

Visit http://www.merchantservicez.com to read more articles from this author

The Nou Camp has been home to FC Barcelona since 1957, when construction was completed on the new stadium. While the land had been specifically purchased for a new stadium to be constructed several years before, building work did not start until 1954 after the decision to go ahead with the project was finally made.

Inaugurated on 24 September 1957 - a public holiday in Barcelona to celebrate La Merce, the city's patron saint - in front of a crowd of more than 90,000 spectators and with the terraces still incomplete, the stadium was blessed by the Archbishop of Barcelona, followed by an opening ceremony attended by athletes and politicians alike. When the ceremony was over came the real action Barcelona's first victory at the Nou Camp with a 4-2 win against a selection from Warsaw, and the first ever goal in the stadium being scored by Eulogio Martinez in the 11th minute.

Enlarged in 1982 for the Spanish World Cup, the Nou Camp is the largest all-seater stadium in Europe as well as being the third largest in the world. With seating for 98,700 spectators, it is more correctly known as Camp Nou, which simply means "new field" in Catalan. Despite the vast number of spectators it can hold, the stadium empties remarkably quickly and official club figures state that it can be evacuated in 5 minutes in an emergency.

At full capacity the stadium can be deafening, which is always the case when FC Barcelona play arch-rivals Real Madrid, but sometimes against lesser teams it can be eerily quiet too. Other domestic rivals include Barcelona's second football team, Espanyol, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Mallorca and Zaragoza.

As well as being FC Barcelona's stadium, the Nou Camp also houses the FC Barcelona museum, the most visited museum in Barcelona. The museum includes a historical archive of photos, documents and trophies as well as an exhibition of works by Catalan artists Dali, Miro and Tapies.

Visitors can also take the stadium tour, which includes a tour of the changing rooms, a walk through the tunnel onto the pitch as well as the substitutes' bench and many other areas.

For more information on obtaining FC Barcelona tickets for matches at the Nou Camp visit http://www.simplybarcelonatickets.com