As churchgoers increasingly ask for giving options beyond dropping a check or cash into the collection plate, you may choose to accept credit card contributions. Not all churches process in-person credit card transactions, but if you're gearing up for the big giving season, hosting events or have other opportunities to accept card payments, here are some common-sense steps that can help reduce the possibility of fraud in face-to-face transactions accepted through a terminal, mobile card reader, or other device.
Get familiar with Visa card acceptance guidelines, MasterCard transaction processing rules and other pertinent documents that provide information about accepting and authenticating cards and verifying a cardholder’s identity in face-to-face (also known as card-present) payment transactions.
In addition to following the procedures recommended by your payment processor and the credit card companies, everyone accepting payments at your organization should learn how to know that the card you’re being handed is real, and that the cardholder is who he/she claims.
Inspect the card
Always look at the card and confirm it has the brand’s unique hologram and logo, that the card number and cardholder’s name are raised on the front, and that the expiration date is reverse indented on the back.
Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards have a 3-digit security code engraved in the signature panel on the back of the card, while American Express cards have a 4-digit security code printed on the front of the card above and to the right of the raised card number.
Verify the user’s ID
If the card inspection reveals any warning signs about the card or the cardholder, check the cardholder’s driver license or government-issued picture ID to make sure the photo looks like the cardholder, ensure that the name on the ID is reasonably close to the name on the card, and that the signatures are the same on the ID and card.
Verify the transaction
If an approved payment receipt is printed, check that the name printed on receipt below the signature line matches the name on the front of the card, and that the last 4 digits of the card number printed on receipt match the last 4 digits on the card.
If the device you use to process card payments — terminal, mobile card reader or other device — displays the last 4 digits of card number during transaction input, check that the last 4 digits of the card number displayed in the display window match the last 4 digits on the card. (Note: Check this before you press ENTER on your device).
If your device can’t read the card information and the card number has to be manually keyed in, pay particular attention to all the security and authentication checks performed earlier, and review or perform them again, if necessary. Also, make an imprint of the front of the card, and be sure the card number and expiration date are legible – this helps you determine that the card was legitimately embossed.
Get Merchant Guidelines for Card and Cardholder Authentication, our checklist for reducing the possibility of fraud in card-present credit transactions, as a downloadable PDF to share with your volunteers, staff and anyone who accepts a card for payments.
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