Never Miss a Gift: The Importance of a Secure, Always-on Environment

In 2013, Amazon.com went dark for about 30 minutes. Amazon estimates that they lost about $66,240 for every minute people couldn’t access the site.
It’s little hiccups like this that make some churches wary of putting all their golden eggs in a digital basket. Just like any online retailer, you need confidence that your technology is secure.

In a perfect world, servers would never go down. But as the financial leader in your church, tech glitches mean lost donations. You’re more aware than anyone else what that means in the dollar amount lost. But it’s not just a giving opportunity that’s lost. If your technology doesn’t work, the trust you’ve built with your donors begins to erode. You need a solution that will ensure that every gift is processed and accounted for.

But if you’ve thought to yourself that maybe cash and check donations are the best way to receive donations after all, think again. As it turns out, receiving donations the old fashioned way may be riskier than a digital solution.

Physical Giving Is Riskier

Brotherhood Mutual published an article entitled Church Fraud Exceeds What Churches Give to Missions that addresses this very concern:
“Several years ago, a church daycare director managed to steal $100,000 before church leaders caught up with her. Not only did she steal cash, but she also told parents that since she was the director, the daycare’s bank account was in her name so they should make their checks payable to her.

To cover the theft, she carried out an administrative ‘sleight of hand.’ Parents paid tuition in three-week increments, so the director re-enrolled some students every few weeks. She then gave local social service agencies an accurate count of students because they required an actual headcount, but gave the church board a roster that did not include students whose tuition she had stolen.”
Fraud like this is possible because of the cash and currency changing hands. If parents paid for their child’s tuition through a mobile app, this director wouldn’t have any money to pocket. And the fact that all digital transactions are immediately logged makes them much more secure—and trackable.

Security You Can Trust

That’s why everything Pushpay does has security at the center. Pushpay is…

• PCI compliant at a banking level
• Tested and reviewed by independent agencies to ensure the highest level of security
• Committed to protecting user data
• Actively monitoring all potentially fraudulent and malicious activity

That level of security is nearly impossible when you’re handling actual cash and checks.

Never Lose a Gift  

The ease and speed of mobile giving make it the most convenient way to give. But if there’s a server error somewhere, isn’t it possible that a donation might not get registered and received? Not with Pushpay! If there’s ever a downstream processor outage, Pushpay ensures that every donation is queued and processed when the interruption is resolved. All of this happens without requiring additional action from the giver or the administrator.

On Easter morning 2018, a downstream processor issue paused 4,300 payments ($500,000 total value) from churches using Pushpay. When the problem was resolved, every one of those payments was processed without a problem. Not a single donation was lost. No one had to ask church members to re-enter their gifts. With Pushpay, not only are you providing a safe giving solution, but you’re safeguarding your church’s mission—whether that’s reaching out to the local community or funding life-saving care for those less fortunate overseas.  

Digital Giving Offers Security and Peace of Mind

Your church relies on the generous giving of your members. So, it’s critical that you can trust your fund-collecting process to account for and secure your monies. The truth is that digital giving is more secure than handling cash and checks—there are fewer opportunities for mistakes, mismanagement, or fraud. And with Pushpay, you have the added peace of mind of a solution that puts your security first.

If you’re interested in learning more about Pushpay security, speak to a representative or sign up for a free demo.