Big Problem

05-13-2006 7:48 AM

The_Dewster

Not Ranked

Joined on 05-13-2006

Hello Everyone, I have a big problem. Our company has been sending out fundraising material for the last 2 months and we have about 200 mailed in forms with credit card information. Well we finally got PayPal set up for our online donations and then we went to use the virtual terminal to process all of our mail donations and bam! We never asked anyone for there Card Verification Number. So now we can not process any of our credit card donations. Since I am the one who set up this solution for them I am in big trouble.

So my question is Does anyone know of a merchant solution where I can Process Mail orders without a Card Verification Number?

Thank you in advance.

In reply to

RE: Big Problem

05-13-2006 10:57 AM

rweiner

Top 25 Contributor

Joined on 01-26-2001

Have you checked with your merchant bank? They might be able to provide you with a credit card terminal to process these gifts -- or perhaps they can process them for you.

In the future, however, you should require the CVC number, particularly for online gifts.

Robert

In reply to

RE: Big Problem

05-14-2006 9:18 AM

The_Dewster

Not Ranked

Joined on 05-13-2006

TechSoup Member

We do not have a merchant account. We are using PayPal. Last year they were piggy backing off another organization we were sharing a building with. Now we are in our new offices and no longer have that avaiable to us.

Would any bank have merchant services? Also is there any online solution for this?

Thanks,
Dewey

In reply to

RE: Big Problem

05-14-2006 10:29 AM

rweiner

Top 25 Contributor

Joined on 01-26-2001

Is the organization a registered nonprofit? If so, I hope you're not you using a personal bank account for your finances. If you have a business bank account, ask your bank about credit card processing.

If you are not a nonprofit, do you have a fiscal sponsor that could process the credit card donations for you?

If you are a registered nonprofit, you might be able to process the donations through Network for Good or JustGive. There's no setup fee or monthly fee, so you can get started immediately. You might even find that you have a giving page already set up. You will pay a 3% processing fee, though. I don't know whether they require the CVC number.

Otherwise (unless someone with personal experience responds), you will have to do your own research to find an online donation processor that will work under your circumstances. Some places to look:
Affinity Resources list of Online Donation Engine Providers
Idealware's article on Selecting an Online Donation Tool

If you want to pursue the merchant account/credit card terminal idea, I suggest calling banks in your area, or calling other local nonprofits to see who they recommend.

Robert

In reply to

RE: Big Problem

05-14-2006 6:05 PM

Christian_SEO

Top 10 Contributor

Joined on 02-26-2002

My suggestion would be to contact all of your contributors and request the CVC number and list the last 4 digits of the card number to make sure you get the right one.

Just explain that since the card cannot be used with out this number you thought that the information should be requested in a separate email to protect their account... :-)

In reply to

RE: Big Problem

05-19-2006 3:26 PM

RTF_corinne

Not Ranked

Joined on 04-17-2006

TechSoup Member

I agree with Christian's recommendation. By contacting everyone that sent in a credit card form, you accomplish a few things. You can thank them for their donation, say that this is protocol for their protection, and give them the last four numbers to verify. Being in touch with your donors in this way really can be a positive.

Be prepared though, you might be met with some people who do not have any intention of giving credit card info to someone who has called them, so you might have to give your number out and have them call you back.

Personally, If I were your donor, I would not have been comfortable mailing in a paper form with the little code along with the card number - it is just too risky. So it is actually feasible to think you could have planned this all along!

Good luck,
Corinne

In reply to

RE: Big Problem

05-22-2006 12:39 PM

waters

Not Ranked

Joined on 06-27-2002

TechSoup Member

We use Versign Payflow Pro to process all of our credit card donations and I know for a fact that they do not require a CV2 code. In fact, they do not require anything besides the credit card number and the expiration date.
Although they don't have nonprofit rates they are definitely affordable (about $60 a month) and have pretty decent service. They have a nice recurring billing feature that we use as well. This branch of Verisign was actually bought by eBay recently, so some things may change in the future. You do need to have a merchant services account to get it working but it is a great tool if you recieve a moderate volume of credit card donations every month.
Here is their website: Verisign Paypro

In reply to

RE: Big Problem

05-23-2006 6:41 AM

bkayne

Top 500 Contributor

Joined on 06-20-2005

TechSoup Member

Your might also look at Ticketmaster. We use them through eTapestry and their rates are the best we've ever seen. No monthly costs, no per transaction fee. Sub 3% transaction cost. We run our recurring transactions through them as well.

They also have great customer service. Here's their website:

http://www.iats.ticketmaster.com/english/index.html

Bob

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