Zeffy Tap to Pay: In-Person payments for Nonprofits
Designed the user flow and interface for Zeffy’s Tap to Pay — the first completely free point-of-sale solution for nonprofits in North America. It allows organizations to effortlessly accept in-person, contactless payments using just a smartphone — no hardware, no transaction fees.
Responsibilities
Design strategy, Research, Conception, User flows, Ideation, Prototype
shipped outputs
A IOS app
TIMELINE
1 month concept design, 1.5 months MVP lanch
Team
A product manager, 1 engineers
Summary
The Problem
Nonprofits often face high costs when accepting in-person donations. Traditional POS systems require expensive hardware and charge transaction fees of up to 5% or more—taking away from funds meant to support their cause. These barriers make it harder for nonprofits to collect donations during events and face-to-face interactions.
The Solution
Zeffy introduced Tap to Pay, the first completely free POS system for nonprofits in North America. It allows organizations to accept contactless payments—including credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay—directly on their iPhone with no additional hardware and no transaction fees. The platform is funded by optional donor contributions, ensuring 100% of the donation goes to the nonprofit.
This solution empowers nonprofits to raise more funds with less friction—offering a user-friendly, cost-effective way to accept donations in person.
Research
Challenges
Designing a secure, seamless POS experience without external hardware—built entirely by a team with no prior experience in iOS design or development.
User Needs – Organizations
Accept in-person credit card payments with minimal friction
Collect only the essential donor/buyer information for receipts and tracking
Provide confirmation receipts or proof of payment after transactions
Support multiple payment categories or forms (e.g., tickets, food, donations)
Organize sales and inventory by event or product type
Handle both online and offline purchases
Sync inventory across online and physical sales
Associate payments with specific campaigns
Platform Requirements
Offer a simple, tap-to-pay experience with no donor-side app required
Encourage donors to support Zeffy’s zero-fee model through optional tipping
Support both fixed and custom payment amounts
Include a dashboard with analytics and transaction insights
Design Requirements
Build the iOS experience using Zeffy’s design system to maintain visual and brand consistency
Optimize for older iOS versions and lower-end mobile devices commonly used by Zeffy’s user base
Prioritize accessibility and ease of use for an older demographic, focusing on clarity, large touch targets, and simplified flows
Ensure merchants accept Tap to Pay on iPhone terms and conditions before beginning any transaction
Require final payment amounts to be confirmed before initiating Tap to Pay, especially when tipping or add-ons are involved
Clearly display the merchant name, icon, and final amount during the Tap to Pay flow, following Apple’s UX and compliance guidelines
This feedback shows a clear need for a lightweight, flexible POS solution tailored for nonprofits : "one that supports event-specific workflows, minimizes friction, and enhances transaction clarity for both users and organizations."
IDEATION
Organizations flow
Log in → Navigate to Dashboard
Access the Forms View section
Select an existing form (e.g., donation, event, food, or ticket)
Fill in necessary details (form info, category, item list, etc.)
Once the form is ready, share it with donors for in-person use
After transactions, return to the dashboard to view confirmation and records
Donors flow
View the form provided by the organization
Select the desired item or donation type (e.g., ticket, food, raffle)
Enter personal details (name, email, address)
Proceed to Checkout
Confirm the amount
Optionally add a tip to support Zeffy
Complete the payment via Tap to Pay
View confirmation screen and receive an email receipt
MVP Focus
The MVP focuses on the "Forms View" flow, allowing organizations to use pre-configured forms while donors complete the full donation or payment process within the app.
⚠️ Note: The Rapid Payment flow is not included at this stage, and Creating new fundraising campaigns is currently only supported on the web and is not part of the MVP mobile experience.
Information Architecture
01. Forms
Central hub for managing pre-configured forms (e.g., donations, ticketing).
Covers the full donation or purchase flow: selecting an existing form, entering form details, choosing donation or ticket types, providing donor information, proceeding to checkout, and receiving an email receipt.
Follows the same structure as the desktop version for consistency.
02. Transactions
Allows organizations to access transaction summaries, detailed records.
Each transaction includes key details such as amount, type, description, and date.
Supports end-to-end tracking of all donation or ticketing activity, including tipping and payement confirmation.
03. My Account
Personal dashboard for managing user settings and preferences.
Features include profile switching, password management, access to documentation, and the ability to submit feature requests.
Sketch (MVP)
This sketch outlines the MVP flow of Zeffy’s Tap to Pay experience for both organizations and donors. The design follows a linear, minimal-step approach to ensure speed and simplicity during in-person transactions.
The core journey — select form → enter information → tap to pay → confirm — is streamlined for quick payments and easy setup, making it ideal for on-site use at events, booths, or donation tables.
dESIGN
Design Drafts & Iterations
From the beginning, the goal was to align the mobile Tap to Pay flow with Zeffy’s existing web experience. At the same time, we had to address key organizational needs—specifically collecting buyer information and providing confirmation receipts.
Throughout the design process, we explored different ways to balance a simplified mobile experience with those requirements. Multiple iterations and user feedback helped us refine the flow, resulting in a solution that is both user-friendly and meets essential organizational expectations.
Launching the MVP
To bring Zeffy’s Tap to Pay to life, we launched a focused Minimum Viable Product designed for fast, in-person transactions—without requiring any external hardware or donor-side apps.
Objectives:
Enter the U.S. market early
Launched the MVP to deliver a seamless Tap to Pay experience starting with nonprofits in the U.S.
Get real-world feedback fast
Skipped traditional user testing to launch quickly and become the first nonprofit platform to support Tap to Pay.
Test technical feasibility
Validated iOS development and Tap to Pay integration with a new in-house team.
01. Login & Account flow
On-screen interface highlights key app features.
Easily switch between different organizations.
Receive feedback par email.
02.Forms & Transactions flow
Focused only on core features: Forms, Transactions, and My Account.
Use pre-configured forms to collect donations or sell tickets.
Designed distinct page layouts for Donation and Ticketing flows.
03.Ticketing and Donation flow
Collect minimal buyer information when needed.
Encourage platform support through optional contributions (tips).
04.Checkout flow
Accept contactless payments directly from an iPhone.
Offer donors the option to receive email receipts.
Looking Ahead: Future Development Considerations
While the MVP focused on speed and usability for in-person nonprofit events, several opportunities remain for future development.
We plan to iterate based on real-world user feedback to improve clarity, flow, and feature usefulness. Key areas of consideration include:
Fundraising creation in-app: Bringing campaign creation capabilities into the mobile app for greater autonomy.
Android support: Expanding beyond iOS to reach a broader user base.
Localization: Preparing for a launch in the Canadian market with bilingual support (English/French) and regional compliance.
More customization for forms: Enabling flexible input types, donation presets, and real-time inventory updates.
Enhanced analytics and dashboards: Giving organizations deeper insight into transaction trends on mobile.
These next steps aim to scale Zeffy’s Tap to Pay experience while keeping the interface simple, accessible, and mission-aligned.
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