For many Not-for-Profits, the relationship with their merchant service provider has reached a crossroads. Many find themselves pushed toward a difficult choice: stay locked into a platform owned proprietary tools like Blackbaud Merchant Services, or migrate to a new donor CRM like Klevr Fundraising & Grants paired with a flexible payment gateway provider like Stripe.
If being tethered to a single merchant service provider is no longer working for you, this guide explains how to seamlessly migrate your credit card payment processing without putting your revenue at risk.
The stakes of this transition are high. Recurring givers are the lifeblood of your organisation, and many NFPs fear that switching systems will result in a “churn catastrophe.” The fear is founded: statistics show that if you are forced to ask donors to manually re-enter their card details, you risk losing 70–80% of your recurring revenue.
As daunting as that sounds, the move to a more agile donor and grants management solution represents a massive opportunity. By reclaiming your choice of CRM and payment gateway providers, you gain the freedom to innovate and improve your supporter experience. You shouldn’t have to feel stuck with a solution that doesn’t meet your needs.
Let’s fix that.
Let’s start with the most sensitive part of the process: moving credit card details.
For Australian and New Zealand Not-for-Profits, the only way to handle this safely is through the use of secure credit card tokens.
When migrating from a legacy system like Blackbaud Merchant Services (BBMS), you should never handle raw credit card data. Instead, you must migrate the “vaulted” tokens. This is considered the “Critical Path” of your migration, and here is how it is executed:
The Protocol (PAN Import)
A secure migration utilizes a PAN (Primary Account Number) import. This is a highly regulated, PCI-compliant process where your legacy merchant service provider transfers PGP-encrypted data directly to your new gateway (like Stripe) via Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).
The Coordination Requirement
It is important to note that Stripe (and other modern gateways) will not extract data on your behalf. Your organisation must provide the necessary Attestation of Compliance (AOC) documentation and coordinate the release directly with Blackbaud. Because not all processors release this data willingly, early confirmation with Blackbaud is essential to avoid project delays.
Compliance Partner
To ensure absolute PCI compliance during this sensitive phase, we recommend that clients work with a trusted partner to handle the card token migration. We can facilitate introductions to specialist partners who manage this technical hand-off end-to-end.
The Mapping File
Once the import is complete, your new gateway provider will deliver a JSON or CSV mapping file. This file acts as the “link” between your old internal donor IDs and the new Stripe tokens. Your downstream systems must be updated with this data to ensure you can continue charging givers without interruption.
What about migrating Direct Debits and Recurring Donation schedules?
A common misconception is that if you move the tokens, the donations will just “keep happening.” However, unlike credit card tokens, the recurring giving logic – such as when a donor is charged and for how much – does not migrate automatically.
Direct Debit Complexity
In Australia, moving direct debits often involves navigating the transition from the legacy Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) to the data-rich, real-time New Payments Platform (NPP).
The Logic Gap
Because subscriptions and recurring schedules do not move during a token import, they must be recreated and re-linked in your new system.
The Role of Structured Data Migration (ETL)
Your new payment gateway stores the secure token, but your Donor CRM (like Klevr Fundraising) must hold the recurring giving schedule. A successful move requires a structured ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) process.
Using specialised migration tools, we extract your active and historical records (including donor relationships, campaign alignment, instalment amounts, and next payment dates) directly from your legacy system. This data is cleansed, mapped, and loaded into the Klevr data model, with rigorous validation checks to ensure all future instalments are accurately represented prior to go live.
Minimise donor impact with a phased approach to CRM and merchant service provider migration.
To ensure a seamless transition, we recommend a phased approach that validates your new infrastructure before moving your entire donor base.
Phase
Technical Objective
Operational Result
Phase 1: New Acquisitions
Technical Objective
Route all new website donations through your new gateway (e.g., Stripe).
Operational Result
Tests the integration and reconciliation workflows with live traffic without risking your existing recurring revenue.
Phase 2: Token Migration
Technical Objective
Securely export legacy tokens from Blackbaud Merchant Services.
Operational Result
Moves the "vault" to the new processor.
Phase 3: Logic Re-Linking
Technical Objective
Use the mapping file to update your new CRM (like Klevr Fundraising).
Operational Result
Re-establishes the recurring schedules against the new tokens, ensuring the "logic" matches the new payment method IDs.
Phase 4: Final Cutover
Technical Objective
Decommission the legacy account.
Operational Result
The migration is complete with zero donor re-entry required.
Managing the Settlement Flow
During the transition, your cash flow is maintained through a clear settlement process. All existing payments from your current gateway will continue to be processed into the organisation’s bank account until the cutover is complete. Once the migration is finished, payments received via the new gateway will begin flowing to your account, ensuring no gap in liquidity.
Critical CRM and merchant service provider migration considerations.
While the phased approach reduces risk, there are several “behind-the-scenes” factors that will dictate your project’s success:
1. The 10 Day Technical SLA
Once your new gateway provider (like Stripe) receives valid, PGP-encrypted data from Blackbaud, the technical ingestion typically takes 10 business days. However, your total timeline must account for “legacy responsiveness.” Delays in Blackbaud releasing the data can extend your project by several weeks.
2. Post-Migration Maintenance
Once the tokens are live in Stripe, your internal systems must be ready to handle new Stripe-specific object IDs. Additionally, you should ensure your CRM supports Card Account Updater (CAU) services post-migration. This feature silently refreshes expired or replaced cards in the background, further protecting your revenue from future churn.
3. Defining Ownership Boundaries
A successful migration requires explicit ownership. The project involves a “three-way” coordination between your organisation (the client), the legacy processor (Blackbaud), and the new migration team. Ensuring clear lines of responsibility for data validation is essential to avoid “lost” records.
Blackbaud vs. Microsoft: Choosing freedom over the “Closed Ecosystem”.
The frustration with legacy platforms often stems from a closed ecosystem – a restrictive model where your donor CRM and payment processing are inextricably linked. This proprietary lock-in limits your choice of providers, stifles innovation, and often leads to “cost surprises” when you attempt to integrate new tools.
By migrating to Klevr Fundraising on the Microsoft Cloud, Australian and New Zealand Not For Profits reclaim their data sovereignty. You gain a modern, flexible architecture while remaining within the familiar Microsoft productivity suite your team already uses every day, including apps like Outlook, Excel, SharePoint, and Power BI.
Payment Gateway Choice
You are no longer tethered to a single merchant service provider. Klevr empowers you to choose the best credit card payment gateways for your specific needs, whether that is the global power of Stripe, the familiarity of PayPal, or trusted local Australian options like eWay and NAB.
Intelligent Integration
Beyond the initial migration, the Klevr Integration Hub removes ongoing administrative friction by replacing manual data entry with automated, “set and forget” workflows. By handling the real-time technical heavy lifting (such as secure data transfers and intelligent mapping between your CRM and finance systems) we reduce integration build times and costs by up to 75%.
Simplified Reconciliation
Reconciliation is made significantly simpler within Klevr Fundraising. We can add additional metadata to each transaction, which is then reflected in your finance system through patterned integration. This assists your finance team in easily reconciling individual gifts against bulk payouts.
A Unified Source of Truth
Why juggle disconnected systems? With Klevr Grants and Klevr Fundraising unified in the Microsoft Dataverse, your entire financial lifecycle, from donor income to grant disbursements,is secure in one environment. This ensures your reporting is transparent, auditable, and ready for 2025 compliance standards.
Not For Profits Payment Processing Migration Frequently Asked Questions
Will my regular givers be notified of the move from Blackbaud to Stripe, or have to re-enter their card details?
No. Provided you execute a PCI compliant PAN import, the transition is completely silent and “invisible” to the donor. No re-entry is required, which is the single most effective way to prevent the 70–80% churn rate often seen during poorly managed system moves. Walkerscott’s implementation team specialises in managing this critical path to ensure your recurring revenue remains uninterrupted.
Does the credit card processor migration automatically move our recurring donation logic and schedules into our new CRM?
This is a major “gotcha” for many IT Managers. While card tokens move securely between processors, the recurring logic (the when and how much) does not. You must accurately recreate these schedules in your new CRM. To solve this, our team executes a structured ETL process using specilised migration tools to map your historical records and future gift commitments directly into the Klevr Fundraising data model. This ensures your data is cleansed and validated, eliminating the need for manual data entry and preventing double-charging errors.
How do our compliance obligations (PCI DSS 4.0 and ACNC) affect or payment processing migration?
With the mandatory shift to PCI DSS 4.0 by March 2025 and the ACNC’s new focus on effective record-keeping, “manual” migration processes are no longer viable. To ensure PCI compliance, we recommend that clients work with a trusted partner to handle the actual card token migration. By moving to a Microsoft-native ecosystem, your data is stored in the secure Dataverse, which provides the automated, auditable trails required by Australian regulators, significantly reducing your internal compliance burden.
Can we still settle funds into our existing Australian business bank accounts?
Absolutely. Modern payment gateways like Stripe allow you to settle funds into any existing Australian bank account. The benefit of moving to a system like Klevr Fundraising is that while the money lands in your bank, the reconciliation data flows directly into your Microsoft ecosystem or accounting software (like Dynamics 365 Business Central), removing the “administrative friction” of manual gift matching.