- October 30, 2025
St Josephs is proud to introduce a new way of contributing to our parish offering using your debit or credit card including your phone’s Digital Wallet (Apple Pay, Google Pay).
Our parish has worked with a company called Tip Tap Pay, and the Archdiocese of Toronto, to introduce Digital Contactless Payments.
We are living in a cashless society, where more and more people are using contactless payments to pay for monetary transactions. With parishioners not having cheques or cash, but wanting to support the work of our parish, we are introducing an easy way to make contributions to our parish offertory. This is not meant to replace pre-authorized giving, which is monthly contributions to support the parish from your bank account or credit card. Rather, this is a way to make a contribution each week while at the parish if you wish to do so and receive a tax receipt for your donation.
So what does this mean for our parishioners and visitors to our parish – you can now make your offertory donation by credit or debit card or your digital wallet to support our parish offertory! No more worrying about having cash, or writing a cheque – just tap!
Devices & Locations
For the convenience of our parishioners, our parish has installed fixed digital contactless payment devices within the church at locations described below
Initial Deployment
- At the Narthex Entrance Doors
- A floor stand with 3 payment denominations – $5, $10, & $20
- At the West Entrance Doors
- A floor stand that has 3 payment denominations – $5, $10, & $20
- At the East Entrance Door (by the Hall Kitchen)
- A mini stand with a $5 payment denomination
Later Deployment
- At the Votive Candles – Yes! you can now offer candles with digital contactless payments
- A mini stand with a $5 payment denomination
- Offertory Basket – For the convenience of our parishioners in the aisles, the parish has also installed mobile digital contactless payment devices within the church at locations described below
- Main left aisle – A basket clip stand with a $5 payment denomination
- Main right aisle – A basket clip stand with a $5 payment denomination
How to donate?
Tapping without registering your information will result in an anonymous donation to our parish.
To donate, all a parishioner has to do is tap their credit or debit card or use their mobile device’s digital wallet on the device which has the amount they wish to donate.
If a parishioner wanted to donate an amount that is not shown, for example $25, they could tap on the $20 and $5 device. You can also tap an individual box more than once to increase the amount you wish to contribute – for example, tapping the $5 device four times would result in a $20 donation.
Your credit card or bank statement will read ST. JOSEPH’S PARISH for your donations.
Tax Receipts
IMPORTANT! Donations made via Digital Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) cannot be used to generate Tax Receipts. They will be treated as anonymous donations.
If you would like to receive a tax receipt at the end of the calendar year, after making your first transaction, register your card(s) by clicking the button below. This will take you to the TipTapPay site associated with your parish (St Joseph’s). Enter your information, including their debit or credit card number.
Be assured that this information is not stored on the device and is encrypted from end to end to protect your data.
- This only needs to be done once per card
- Multiple cards can be registered
- ONLY physical Debit or Credit cards are eligible for tax receipts
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Will I receive a tax receipt for the full amount of my donation?
Yes… But you must register your payment card! Right after your first ‘tiptap’ gift, scan the parish QR code and register your payment card.
After registering your card, all of your ‘tiptap’ gifts that you make will be part of your end- of-year tax receipt. Your tax receipt will be for the full amount of all of your ‘tiptap’ gifts that have been made after registering your physical debit/credit card.
A tax receipt can only be issued if you tap and register with a physical debit/credit card. This donation will be recorded as an anonymous donation.
Please note: Mobile Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) use a unique virtual card number. This is currently NOT SUPPORTED for Tax Receipts.
If you do not wish to receive a tax receipt for your contribution, you can simply tap the device with your contactless method of payment. The contribution will be recorded as an anonymous donation with the parish.
Additionally, you can register your card at a later date and transactions can be retroactively associated with your parish account. This is not advised and could have administrative issues. Recommendation is to have you register after the 1st tap of each card.
If I have registered my card with TipTap at St. Joseph’s Scarborough Parish and use it at another parish, will that donation get added to my Tax Receipt at St. Joseph’s?
No, you have to register your card at every parish that you use it to get a Tax Receipt from each of those parishes.
What if I have more than one credit card?
You will need to register each card if you wish to receive a tax receipt at the end of the year.
Who pays the fees associated with the digital payments?
The parish is responsible for the payment of any fees associated with using the devices.
Can I use my debit card on the Tip Tap devices?
Yes. Both debit and credit cards that have the ability to make contactless payments can be used on the ‘tiptap’ devices.
How do I donate different amounts?
You can only donate the amount that is labelled on the ‘tiptap’ device. However, you can tap the ‘tiptap’ device multiple times to donate more. For example, you can tap a $5-device 4 times to make a $20 gift to your parish.
I made a mistake when registering my card. Who do I need to contact?
Please contact the parish office to help with this issue.
Is my data stored in the device?
No. No donor information is kept on the device. The only information that is collected is the last 4 digits of the card number, the card type, and the time of the transaction.
Further, it also cannot be hacked as any tampering triggers a signal that shuts down the device.
If my payment card has changed, how do I update my information?
Please contact the parish office immediately to have your payment card updated. You will not receive a tax receipt with your new payment card until your new card has been registered with the parish.
How do I know if my payment card was charged?
The transaction will display the name of the parish – ST. JOSEPH’S PARISH. You can see this in one or more places
- One your device’s banking app notification
- On your credit card statement
- On your bank statement
Can I use my phone to use Apple Pay, Google Pay, or my mobile or wearable device to make a gift?
Yes. Contactless payments, including contactless credit and debit cards, as well as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and payment-enabled mobile/wearable devices use the same NFC (NearField Communication) technology.
How many times can I tap the ‘tiptap’ device per visit?
Approximately 20 times.
How do I know if my donation was successful?
Approved: one beep, short pause, then another beep.
Declined: one beep, followed by three quick beeps.
Is TipTap secure?
Yes. TipTap uses the same encrypted contactless technology as banks and retailers. Devices do not store personal information and automatically shut down if tampered with.
What payment methods are accepted?
Tap-enabled debit cards – Interac
Credit cards – Visa, MasterCard, American Express
Mobile wallets – Apple Pay, Google Pay
What happens if I don’t register my debit/credit card “right away”?
You have to register your card within 24 hours of tapping a donation. After 24 hours, your donation is considered an anonymous donation.
Note that this is applicable only for our parish. Other parishes might have a different approach.
Device FAQ
Lights Cycling
Four LEDs, only one at a time
Lights cycling means that the device is searching for the network. Hang tight until it connects. If it takes longer than expected, move a little to get a better signal.
You will see a steady light once the device is connected and ready to receive transactions.
Intermitent Lights
One or two LED lights on
This indicates that the device is ready to tap. At times, you may notice a short blink in 30-second intervals, this is normal and should not be a concern.
Blinking Lights
All four LEDs blinking at the same time
This indicates that the device is processing a firmware update and is not able to accept a tap. During this time, the device may beep a few times without any user intervention, this is normal.
All LEDs off
No lights on or flashing
If all LEDs are off, this is more than likely an indication that the device is no longer being powered.
How do I know if the device is on?
A solid green light on the bottom LED indicates the device is on and receiving power.