Common Terms
PCI DSS
PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It was developed by the major credit card companies as a guideline to help organizations that process credit card payments prevent data compromises, theft and credit card fraud. Any online donations provider processing, transmitting or storing payment card data must be PCI DSS compliant or risk losing their ability to process credit card payments online and may be subject to substantial fines.
Merchant Account
A merchant account is an arrangement with a merchant processing bank to accept credit card payments. The money transferred to your merchant account as a result of a credit card transaction settles for a period of time before being transferred to your main bank account. This settlement time can range from 24 to 96 hours on average.
Aggregator
The basic definition of an aggregator is an online donation provider that takes contributions from donors on behalf of organizations, not for organizations. This is an important distinction. Aggregators take payments in the Aggregator’s name, not in the Organization’s name. Aggregators use their own merchant accounts and do not set up merchant accounts for each organization.
Gateway
A gateway is an online donation provider that takes contributions from donors in the organization's name and using the organization's own merchant account. Gateways will set up unique Merchant Accounts for each organization. Gateways will usually handle all the paperwork associated with merchant account setups, shielding the organization from complex paperwork and hassle.
Virtual Terminal
A Virtual Terminal allows you to manually enter credit card data received over the phone or in person. If a donor cannot access a computer or is in your office, you can still accept their donation.
SSL
When stating that a site is secure it simply means that it’s encrypted with the SSL Protocol (secured socket layers) - an industry standard for encrypting data transmitted over the internet. Security only covers the data as it moves through the internet. Even secured by SSL, once that data reaches a destination, it becomes susceptible to compromise.
eCheck/ACH
An eCheck is an electronic transfer of funds between two accounts using the ACH (Automated Clearing House) System. Transactions function in the same manner as traditional checks. eCheck is also known as an ACH Debit or Electronic Funds Transfer. (EFT)
Skin
When describing the look and feel of your website, a skin refers to the images, navigation, styles and overall theme that defines your website. A donation provider should be able to “skin” their product to look and feel exactly like your website. The more accurate the skin, the more comfortable the donor feels about giving online and knowing that their money is going to the organization instead of a third party.
Settlement
The process of withdrawing funds from a cardholder’s credit line or bank account and transferring them to the merchant bank account in preparation for depositing into the organization’s bank account. Settlement is the period in which funds are made available for transfer to the organization.
Restrictions
Restrictions and exclusions are sometimes known as 'earmarks.' Having a “Building Fund,” for example, lets any donor choose to earmark their dollars to help complete the construction no matter how they choose to donate to your organization. It is important that these systems apply not just to donations, but also to any recurring donation options such as Pledging, Tithing and Membership Levels.