Accept In-Person Donations with Jovvie and GiveWP

Jovvie adds in-person donations to your GiveWP forms in a few minutes. Donors pay by tapping, inserting, or swiping a card on a Stripe Terminal reader or on an NFC-capable phone or tablet, and the funds settle directly into your own Stripe account.

By the end of this guide you will have a registered reader, a Jovvie payment gateway enabled on your GiveWP donation forms, and a completed test donation.

What you need

An active WordPress site running the GiveWP plugin
The Jovvie payment gateway plugin for GiveWP
A Stripe account, either new or existing
A supported card reader, or a phone or tablet with Tap to Pay

Install and activate the plugin

Download the Jovvie gateway .zip file from your Jovvie account.
Sign in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
Go to Plugins › Add New Plugin.
Choose Upload Plugin, select the .zip file, and upload it.
Select Activate when the upload finishes.

The gateway now appears in your list of installed plugins.

Connect the gateway to Jovvie

In WordPress, go to Give › Settings › Payment Gateways.
Find Jovvie Payments in the gateway list and open it.
Select Connect with Jovvie Payments. A pop-up window opens to start the connection.

If nothing happens, allow pop-ups for your admin domain and select the connect button again.

Create your Jovvie account and link Stripe

Select Get Started, then enter your name, email address, and a password to create your Jovvie account.
Once you are signed in, confirm which Stripe account you want to use and select Connect. If you do not have a Stripe account yet, you can create one during this step.
Select Connect My Site to link your WordPress site. Jovvie generates the API keys and writes them into your gateway settings for you.

Your site is now connected and ready to take in-person donations.

Add a location and register your reader

Stripe requires every terminal reader to belong to a location, so create one before you pair a device.

Open Location Management and select Create Location.
Enter the address for the location and select Save Changes.
Under the new location, choose Live Mode or Test Mode depending on how you plan to register the reader.

Internet-connected readers

Readers that connect over the network are registered from the Jovvie dashboard. Power on the reader and it displays a one-time registration code.

Enter that code in the Register Reader section.
Give the reader a label so you can identify it later.
Select Save Changes.

The reader shows as Online once registration succeeds. It is ready to accept donations.

Bluetooth readers and Tap to Pay

Bluetooth readers and Tap to Pay on a phone or tablet are paired through the Jovvie app instead. Finish this section, then continue to Tap to Pay and Bluetooth readers with the Jovvie app.

Enable the gateway and take a donation

In Give › Settings › Payment Gateways, confirm that Jovvie Payments is enabled so it appears as an option on your donation forms. Both the Visual Form Builder and the option-based form editor are supported.
Open a donation form, choose the in-person payment option, and select Donate Now.
The Jovvie payment screen loads and activates your registered reader.
Have the donor tap, insert, or swipe their card.
Once the payment clears, the browser returns to your GiveWP confirmation page.

To test first, register the reader in Test Mode and use Stripe’s test cards. Test donations do not move real money and can be cleared from your GiveWP records afterwards.

Tap to Pay and Bluetooth readers with the Jovvie app

The Jovvie app runs your donation form on a phone or tablet and drives the reader directly. It is required for Bluetooth readers and for Tap to Pay on NFC-capable iOS and Android devices, and it also works with internet-connected readers if you prefer to run everything from a handheld.

Download the app

Point the app at your donation form

Open the app and tap the Jovvie icon in the upper-right corner.
In WordPress, find your donation form URL under Give › All Forms › Edit › Settings, in the URL field.
Back in the app, edit Home URL and paste in the donation form URL.
Tap Payment Server › Link Payment Accounts.
Tap Already have an account and sign in to Jovvie.
Tap Connect to enable payments in the app.
When prompted to save API credentials, tap OK.
Tap Back to leave the Payment Server settings.

Set up the card reader in the app

Open Credit Card Gateways in settings and turn the gateway on.
Tap Add Credit Card Gateway.
Choose the connection type that matches your hardware:
- Bluetooth for Bluetooth-paired mobile readers
- Internet for network-connected countertop readers
- Tap to Pay for an NFC-capable iOS or Android device with no separate reader
Copy your Stripe Location ID from Give › Settings › Payment Gateways › Jovvie Payments › Location & Terminals.
Select your reader as the Device and paste in the Stripe Location ID.
Close the Credit Card Gateway settings.
Accept the permission prompt that appears so the app can reach the reader.

A green dot on the credit card icon confirms the reader is connected.

Take a donation from the app

Tap Home to load your donation form.
On the payment step, choose the Jovvie app option and tap Process Payment.
Have the donor tap, insert, or swipe their card when prompted.
The confirmation page appears once the donation clears.
The form resets automatically after a few seconds, ready for the next donor.

Support

That is the full setup. If a reader will not come online, a donation stalls on the payment screen, or you need help choosing hardware for your event, contact Jovvie support and we will walk through it with you.