Creating a merchant gateway and credit card acceptance system is a process fraught with complexity, expense, and frustration. From the monthly security scans to the costs of maintaining the required network security, operating a nuclear power plant might be easier.
We decided to create a product that would make this process painless for organizations that can benefit from online contributions. By using Patriot, you avoid having to create your own gateway and merchant account systems, as you can simply borrow ours. Moreover, we offer a full-featured contribution management system, so even if you don't want to collect funds from online donors, you can benefit from the organizational capabilities that Patriot offers.
Who can use our online donation system?
Our system allows anyone to collect donations from any existing website, no matter who hosts or who designed it. No matter the programming language in which it is written or number of pages in your site, Patriot can easily be linked into your existing online offering. This flexibility leaves you worry free so you can choose it as your online fundraising tool in any situation. All you need is an email address to receive donation notifications, and a checking account into which we will deposit your funds.
Is our system secure?
There are many levels of security that organizations can attempt to meet when doing business online. With our years of software development experience and working with such restrictions as HIPAA compliance, EU privacy acts, and other laws, we truly understand the meaning of the term "secure". We encrypt our data so your information is rendered unreadable outside of our application. Also, on a physical level our servers are securely housed in a secure building with locked server cabinets, locked bezels on each server, HID key-card door locks, and Brinks security challenges on those that do enter. We also have multiple security cameras to see who is lurking about inside or outside of the facility. Our entire network is continuously scanned by external security firms to be sure our firewalls are hardened and our systems are secure. We also re-scan our entire network each week to maintain a pristine environment. You won't find many others that have taken the time or expense to secure their network and data to the level that we have. We meet or exceed all of the requirements for Visa & Mastercard security certification required by a level four merchant.
What information do we store?
We store everything we can, because you never know what kind of weird report you might want years down the road. This includes all of the required personal data for each individual that donates to your organization as well as the raw dollar amounts and transaction details. We also store this information for another key reason, fraud prevention. We store the Internet (IP) address of the donor and users as well other pertinent information that will allow us to track-down, and better prevent, fraudulent behavior. However, we do not store credit card information aside from approval codes that can be used by the bank to track a transaction. This minimizes any risk that might otherwise be present by holding onto the credit card details. Your privacy and the privacy of your donors is a major priority and one that we take very seriously. You can also add an infinite number of custom fields to your database, so no matter what special need you have, Patriot can handle it.
How does our online donation collection work?
We securely collect the credit card data from the donor and deposit it into our holding account. At the same time, we will send you an email letting you know about the transaction and individual who made the contribution from your website. Also, a receipt is sent to the donor on your behalf thanking them for their contribution. Back in the holding account the deposit can be examined and verified as valid. This is quite meaningful to political organizations that may have a limit on the size of the donation they can accept. Note that Patriot allows you to specify the limit a donation so someone cannot over-contribute and violate election law. By watching donations in this manner prevents possible misuse and the unfortunate and time consuming paperwork that results. Once the donation is verified, our fee is removed, we then deposit the net amount directly into your bank account (usually 3 to 10 business days after the donation has been processed). All of the transactions (pending and historical) are available in our system so you can see exactly what is going on and how much you are making.
Allow support groups the ability to track their efforts!
Did you know that our system can create unique donation pages for use by other groups that might be supporting your organization? For example, one of our clients belongs to a rather large professional organization, and they wanted to directly support the fundraising effort. By using our flexible donation categorization system, they were able to place a fundraising page right on their site, customized just for them! Patriot then tracks the donors and dollars raised specifically by that website. It is then a simple matter to generate reports to help keep them motivated and assist them in reaching your mutual goals.