Setup Guide

Realm Tap-to-Give Setup Guide

Already use Realm by ACS Technologies for church management and giving? Add NFC tap-to-give in 3 simple steps. Members tap a plate with their phone and land directly on your Realm giving form — no app, no QR scanning.

3 Steps

Simple setup process

No App

Works on any smartphone

$0/mo

No extra subscriptions

Why Add NFC to Realm?

Realm already handles your member management, online giving, events, and volunteer scheduling in one platform. But during a Sunday service, there’s still a gap. Members have to open the Realm Connect app, navigate to your website, or remember to give when they get home. Most don’t follow through.

NFC tap-to-give bridges that gap with a physical touchpoint. A member taps their phone on a plate and your Realm giving form opens instantly. No app to find, no URL to type, no camera to line up. It’s the fastest path from “I want to give” to “I just gave” — and every donation still flows through Realm’s reporting and tax statements.

Faster than QR codes

Tap instead of scan

No app required

Works on any smartphone

Complements your ChMS

Physical touchpoint for digital giving

Get Your NFC Giving Plates

You need NFC plates that hold up to weekly church use — attached to chair backs, placed on lobby tables, or displayed at welcome centers. Cheap NFC stickers peel and look unprofessional. Rigid PVC plates last.

The Easy Way

Tap.Giving makes NFC giving plates specifically for churches. You get:

Custom branded plates with your church logo and design
Pre-programmed to your Realm giving URL
QR code backup printed on every plate for older phones
Free shipping and no monthly fees — $3.50-$4.50/plate

The DIY Way

You can buy blank NFC tags (NTAG215 or NTAG216) and program them yourself using the free NFC Tools app (iOS and Android):

1. Download NFC Tools on your phone
2. Open the app and select “Write” then “Add a record”
3. Choose “URL” and paste your Realm giving form link
4. Hold your phone to the NFC tag to write the data
5. Repeat for every tag

This works, but you’ll spend time programming each tag individually, and plain stickers don’t look as polished as branded plates.

Set Up Your Realm Giving Link

Your NFC plates need a destination — the page members land on when they tap. With Realm, this is the direct URL to your online giving form, either hosted on onrealm.org or embedded on your church website.

Finding Your Realm Giving URL

Navigate to Giving > Online Giving Forms

Set up or view your online giving form, then click Share/Embed

Copy the direct giving form URL

It looks like: onrealm.org/YourChurchName/Give

Pro Tip

If your church website already has a Realm giving form embedded (e.g., yourchurch.org/give), you can point your NFC plates to that URL instead. Members see your church’s branding and the Realm form loads right there — a more familiar experience than the onrealm.org portal.

Ordering from Tap.Giving? Just share your Realm giving URL when you place your order. Your plates arrive pre-programmed and ready to use — no NFC Tools app needed.

Place Plates and Start Collecting

With your NFC plates programmed and your Realm giving form ready, place them where people will actually use them. Accessibility is everything.

Best Placement Locations

Every Chair / Pew Back

The most effective placement. Members can give during the offering without leaving their seat.

Lobby / Entrance Tables

Catch people on their way in or out. Visitors who want to give on their first visit can do so easily.

Coffee Bar / Fellowship Area

Casual setting where people already have their phones out. A natural moment for generosity.

Welcome Center

Introduce visitors to your giving platform alongside connection cards and ministry info.

Announce It

The first few weeks, tell your congregation about the plates. A simple “You can now give by tapping your phone on the plate in front of you” during the offering goes a long way. Once people try it, they’ll use it every week.

What Happens When Someone Taps

1. Member holds their phone near the NFC plate
2. Phone displays a notification with your Realm giving link
3. They tap the notification and your Realm online giving form opens
4. They choose an amount and complete their gift

The whole process takes under 30 seconds. Phones that don’t support NFC can scan the QR code printed on the plate instead.

Common Questions

Does Realm charge extra for NFC giving?

No. The NFC plate simply opens your existing Realm online giving form URL in the member’s browser. There’s no additional fee from Realm — the donation is processed exactly the same as if someone typed the URL manually.

Do I need to change anything in Realm?

No. NFC plates simply open your existing Realm giving form in the member’s browser. Same giving forms, same payment processing, same reporting dashboard, same tax statements. Nothing changes in your Realm setup.

Will donations from NFC plates show up in Realm reporting?

Yes. Every donation goes through your same Realm online giving form, so contributions appear in your standard Realm reports, contribution statements, and tax records — just like any other online gift.

What phones does it work with?

NFC works on iPhone 7 and newer (iOS 14+), and virtually all Android phones made since 2015. For phones without NFC, the QR code on each plate serves as a backup.

Does this cost anything monthly?

The NFC plates from Tap.Giving are a one-time purchase with no monthly fees. You continue paying whatever you already pay Realm for their platform — nothing extra is added.

Can I use these plates if I switch away from Realm?

Yes. NFC plates can be reprogrammed to any URL. If you switch to Planning Center, Tithe.ly, Pushpay, or any other platform, just reprogram the plates with your new giving link.

Ready to Add Tap-to-Give?

Get custom NFC giving plates pre-programmed to your Realm online giving form. Free shipping, no monthly fees, plates start at $3.50 each.

Get a Quote See Pricing

Works with Realm, Planning Center, Donorbox, Tithe.ly, Pushpay, and any giving platform with a URL

Comparison