Catholic Development Fund

Name

Catholic Development Fund

Legal name

Archdiocese of Melbourne Catholic Development Fund

Website

https://catholicdevelopmentfund.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Charitable Development Fund / Faith-Based Financial Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Functions Related To Depository Banking, Nec (6099), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

National Development Banks & State Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) (BPADACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Development Finance, Guarantees & Blended Finance Programs (BPADABAM), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Charitable development fund
• Faith-based lending
• Community savings accounts
• Catholic capital finance
• Not-for-profit banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Debenture Investment (Savings Accounts): CDF Community Fund issues debentures to investors (individuals and organisations). Investors' funds generate a return applied to further the charitable works of the Catholic Church. Savings account types include 31-Day Mission Saver (1.50% p.a.), Mission Saver Student (base 1.20%, bonus up to 5.50% p.a.), Mission Saver Plus (base 1.20%, bonus up to 5.50% p.a.), and Term Investments (2.10%-5.50% p.a. for personal; 4.15%-5.47% p.a. for organisations).
2. Lending Interest Income: CDF provides loans to Catholic organisations (schools, parishes, hospitals, aged care, social services) for capital development works. Variable lending rates include Term Loan (6.60% p.a.), Bridging (6.60% p.a.), and Overdraft (6.60% p.a.). Over 65+ years with no bad debts recorded.
3. Payment Processing Fees: CDF generates fee income from payment solutions including donation terminals (transaction fees per Visa/Mastercard/EFTPOS), merchant terminals (transaction pricing per plan), CDFpay school/parish payments, and corporate card administration (managed or self-serviced model).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Catholic Development Fund is a not-for-profit Religious Charitable Development Fund that issues debentures to investors through savings accounts and term investments, and on-lends those funds as term loans, bridging finance, and overdrafts to Catholic organisations for capital development works. CDF also provides integrated payment solutions — including CDFpay (online payments for schools/parishes), donation terminals, merchant terminals, and corporate cards — through its own brand and technology partnerships with Flexischools, NAB, and Quest Payment Systems.

Product overview

Catholic Development Fund (CDF) is a Religious Charitable Development Fund established in 1956, operating as a not-for-profit financial services partner for Catholic organisations across the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Dioceses of Sale, Bunbury, and Ballarat. Its product portfolio consists of two main divisions: (1) CDF Community Fund — a savings and investment platform offering Term Investment accounts (fixed terms 1–24 months), Mission Saver Plus (for Catholic employees with immediate access and bonus rates), Mission Saver Student (for youth up to age 25), 31-Day Mission Saver (for general public), and the legacy Mission Saver account (no longer open to new customers); and (2) Payments & Cards — encompassing CDFpay (an online payment collection platform for parishes and schools powered by Flexischools), Donation Terminals (smart EFTPOS-style terminals via Quest Payment Systems), CDF Corporate Cards (expense management with accounting platform integrations), and Merchant Terminals (NAB-powered EFTPOS). CDF also provides loan services (term loans, bridging, overdrafts) and financial planning tools (Fixed Capital and Credit Foncier calculators) for Catholic organisations. All products are governed by APRA and ASIC charitable fundraising exemptions rather than standard banking regulations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mission Saver: Savings account for Parishioners and Individuals to meet savings goals while doing good.
• Mission Saver Plus
• Mission Saver Student
• Term Investment
• CDFpay
• Corporate Cards
• Donation Terminals

Products and services

• Term Investment Account A fixed-term savings account with terms ranging from 1 to 24 months, offering competitive interest rates up to 5.50% p.a. on 12-month terms for individuals and 5.47% p.a. for organisations, with a $2,000 minimum investment. Available to individuals, businesses, trusts, and self-managed super funds (SMSFs). Interest calculated daily and compounded on maturity.
• Mission Saver Plus Account A savings account exclusively for employees of Catholic organisations with immediate access to funds. Earns a bonus interest rate (up to 5.50% p.a. total) when deposits exceed withdrawals by at least $1 each month. Minimum initial investment of $100, no account fees.
• Mission Saver Student Account A savings account for youth up to age 25 with a bonus interest rate (up to 5.50% p.a. total) for regular savers. Requires 31 days' notice for withdrawal. Minimum initial investment of $1. Automatically converts to a 31-Day Mission Saver account at age 26. No account fees.
• 31-Day Mission Saver Account A savings account available to anyone, requiring 31 days' notice for withdrawal. Earns 1.50% p.a. with a $100 minimum initial investment. Designed for individuals wanting to save while supporting the Catholic community. No account fees.
• Loan Services for Catholic Organisations Loan products for Catholic organisations including term loans, bridging finance, and overdraft facilities at a variable lending rate of 6.60% p.a. Funds capital development works for schools, parishes, hospitals, aged care, and social services. CDF has never registered a bad debt in over 70 years of operations.
• CDFpay for Schools An all-in-one online payment and ordering app for Catholic schools covering school fee payments, canteen ordering, uniform shop purchases, event ticketing, and fundraising. Powered by Flexischools technology, ISO 27001 certified and AWS-hosted. Available as a mobile app (iOS/Android) or web browser.
• CDFpay for Parishes An online portal enabling parishes to accept digital offertory payments and donations from parishioners. Supports one-time and recurring payments, with funds deposited directly into parish CDF accounts. Available across the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Diocese of Sale, Diocese of Bunbury, and Diocese of Ballarat.
• Donation Terminals Physical smart terminals for parishes, schools, and Catholic organisations to collect cash-free donations and payments. Includes Smart Donation Terminals (rented at $25/month incl. GST) and Donation Point Tap (DPT) terminals (purchased at $595 incl. GST). Offered in partnership with Quest Payment Systems with online terminal management via Cloud EFTPOS portal.
• CDF Corporate Cards A corporate card and expense management solution for Catholic organisations. Offers self-serviced or fully managed card administration, virtual cards, mobile app and desktop expense management, receipt uploads, approval workflows, and integrations with accounting platforms including Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, and SAP Concur. Custom pricing per organisation.
• Merchant Terminals NAB-powered EFTPOS terminals for Catholic organisations, available as standalone QT850 countertop terminals or integrated Ingenico Move 5000 devices. Accepts cards, contactless, and mobile payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay), with 4G/5G and WiFi connectivity. Free installation and set-up through CDF partnership with NAB.
• CDF Online Portal A secure web portal for organisations and individuals to manage their CDF accounts online. Provides account running balances, transaction history, statements, and funds transfer capabilities. Separate login portals for Organisations, Priests, and Personal (Community Fund) accounts.
• Cheque / Premium Savings Account (Organisations) A transaction and savings account for Catholic organisations offering 1.25% p.a. variable interest rate on balances up to and above $500,000. No account charges. Interest calculated on daily balance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $89 million invested back into the community
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MacKillop Family ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018CDF has partnered with MacKillop Family Services since 2018 to support the Paw Pals program — a therapy dog program helping students with trauma, anxiety, or learning challenges to re-engage with education. CDF has provided 5 years of continued support for the program's growth across Catholic schools in Victoria. Program outcomes include 1,749+ students supported, 6,709+ sessions delivered, 15 facilitators, and 21 therapy dogs. CDF also acts as a matched giving partner for the annual Paw Pals Appeal.
• NAB (National Australia Bank)coreTechnology or IntegrationCDF partners with NAB to provide merchant terminals to Catholic organisations. Through CDF, organisations receive free installation and set-up of NAB EFTPOS machines, with options for standalone QT850 countertop terminals or Ingenico Move 5000 integrated terminals. NAB-powered terminals accept most cards, contactless, and mobile payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay) via WiFi, 4G, or 5G networks.
• Quest Payment SystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationCDF partners with Quest Payment Systems to offer Smart Donation Terminals and Donation Point Tap (DPT) Terminals to Catholic organisations. Quest provides the hardware (QT850 Smart Terminal and DPT) and technical support (helpdesk 9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm weekends/public holidays). Quest's Cloud EFTPOS portal enables terminal management and transaction reporting. CDF offers sponsored pricing on hardware for clients.
• FlexischoolscoreTechnology or IntegrationCDF has partnered with Flexischools to deliver CDFpay — a best-in-class online payments and ordering platform for Catholic Schools across Australia. The all-in-one solution covers school fees, canteen, uniform shop, events, fundraising, and student ID card payments. Available via iOS/Android apps and web browser. Flexischools provides the technology platform, CDF provides the brand and Catholic community reach. ISO 27001 certified, AWS-hosted, ASIC-licensed.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Heritage Bank: Australian customer-owned mutual bank with strong regional Queensland roots and community-development focus. Comparable deposit-taking and lending to community/school/aged-care customers, but operates as a fully prudentially regulated mutual rather than a faith-based development fund.
• Australian Unity: Australian member-owned wellbeing company providing banking, insurance, and healthcare services with a mutual/community ethos. Comparable mission-driven financial-services operator serving community organisations, healthcare, and aged-care providers across Australia.
• Bendigo Bank (Community Banking): Australia's leading community bank with a franchise model built around local relationships and community reinvestment. Comparable customer ethos and regional distribution, though operates under a full banking licence rather than charitable exemptions and serves non-Catholic communities.

Direct peers

• Presbyterian Church of Australia Investment Funds: Another Australian denominational pooled-fund structure that issues investments and lends to churches, schools, and aged-care organisations within its community. Operates under a comparable religious-development-fund model with shared regulatory treatment.
• Lutheran Church of Australia Investment Funds: Operates denominational investment/loan vehicles to fund Lutheran schools, parishes, and aged-care facilities across Australia. Closely analogous to CDF in structure, customer base, and community-led GTM.
• Anglican Church of Australia Diocesan Investment Funds: Faith-based development fund model analogous to CDF — each Australian Anglican diocese operates pooled investment/loan funds for parishes, schools, and aged-care providers under similar APRA-style exemptions. Directly comparable community-led development finance model within the same Australian regulatory framework.
• Seventh-day Adventist Church (Australian Union Conference) Investment Funds: Operates pooled denominational investment funds used to fund Adventist schools, healthcare (Sanitarium, Adventist Health), and aged care in Australia. Comparable faith-based, community-funded development finance structure with similar regulatory treatment.

Others

• NAB (National Australia Bank): Strategic technology partner to CDF for merchant terminal services (NAB-powered EFTPOS). Not a direct competitor for faith-based lending but a key infrastructure provider and adjacent financial-services incumbent serving Catholic organisations.

Emerging players

• Jewish Communal Funds / Montefiore: Australian Jewish community organisations (e.g. Montefiore, JewishCare) operate communal investment and grant vehicles for community infrastructure. Comparable faith-based community development finance model, though with smaller scale and different denominational focus.

Regional players

• Catholic Schools NSW (Diocesan Finance Bodies): Other Australian Catholic diocesan finance and development bodies (e.g. in NSW, QLD, SA) that pool funds and lend to Catholic schools and parishes outside Victoria/WA. Same Catholic denomination, same product set, but geographically distinct markets — natural expansion peers for CDF's model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Catholic Development Fund