Payment Processing Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  Why do I need to fill out a Payment Processing Application?
A: Government regulations in the United States, Canada, and other countries require us to capture required information from organizations in order to facilitate payments on your behalf, and it’s also necessary to ask for your organization’s bank account information (on a secure online form) so that you can receive your money via electronic deposit in 1-2 days.  GETTING YOUR MONEY IN 1-2 DAYS IS IMPORTANT!  Be careful of other companies that hold into your money- at all.  There have been multiple cases of companies actually actually acting like “Ponzi Schemes” and paying past nonprofits from donations made to new nonprofits.  Examples include PipeVine, and Brown Paper Bag Tickets.  Don’t let this happen to your nonprofit!  The founder of SimplyFundraisingCRM, Jon Biedermann, is well respected in the industry, on the board of the Giving Institute, and is the current chair of the Fundraising Effectiveness Project.  No matter what payment processing solution you choose, even if it’s not ours, always insist that you receive your money in 1-2 business days, period.

 

Q:  What is a signor?  Who can fill out the application?
A: A signor, or signatory, is a person who is authorized by your organization to agree to financial/legal decisions.  This person is typically the President or Executive Director of the organization, and can also include other board and staff positions, including Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, CFO, Business Manager, etc..  Please review your own organization’s by-laws to understand who can sign agreements for your organization.

 

Q:  Why do I have to reveal our bank account information?
A: In order to deposit your money in a timely fashion, we require your bank account information to pay you.  Your money is deposited within 1-2 business days.

On or about the 10th of every month, you will be assessed payment processing fees for your transactions from the previous month.  These will be grouped together as one lump sum, and debited from your account at that time.

This methodology makes reconciliation much easier for all parties, as you always receive exactly the amount your donor intended to receive quickly, and fees are deducted as an expense the following month- exactly like traditional bank fees when processing physical checks.

 

Q:  What are the fees?
A: GiveSmart never charges any transaction or maintenance fees. The credit card processing fees are:
Visa/Mastercard/Discover: 3.5%
American Express: 3.95%

 

Q:  How long does it take to get approved?
A: Very quickly- even the same day.  We use Artificial Intelligence to match the signatory with the organization, along with other verification steps.   These steps are known as “Know Your Customer”, or KYC.  KYC procedures like ours are the same procedures that banks and other financial institutions use to authenticate their customers to protect from fraud and other illegal activities.