Blackbaud Merchant and Payment Services

Nonprofit Credit Card Processing FAQs

Still have questions? Review our FAQ for additional information.

Blackbaud Merchant Services Basics

Disbursements

Mobile Credit Card Processing

Reporting

Security

Recurring Gifts

Updating Credit Card Data

Storing Credit Card Data

Digital Wallets

EMV Chip Cards

Blackbaud Merchant Services Basics

Will Blackbaud Merchant Services work with my Blackbaud solutions?

Yes. Blackbaud Merchant Services is ready to use with our award-winning, PCI-compliant software solutions including Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT, Raiser’s Edge, Blackbaud NetCommunity, Blackbaud Altru, Blackbaud CRM, Blackbaud Church Management, Blackbaud Luminate CRM, Blackbaud Luminate Online, Blackbaud TeamRaiser, Blackbaud eTapestry, Blackbaud Enrollment Management System, Blackbaud School Website System, Blackbaud Online Express, Online Express Bill Pay, and Blackbaud Peer-to-Peer Fundraising powered by JustGiving. Our seamless integration enables you to maximize your Blackbaud investment, so you’ll eliminate double entry and gain extensive time savings with streamlined bank reconciliation.

Which cards can I accept with Blackbaud Merchant Services?

For customers processing in U.S. dollars, Blackbaud Merchant Services supports Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express® JCB, Discover, and Diner’s Club. For customers processing in Canadian dollars, Blackbaud Merchant Services supports Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

Does Blackbaud Merchant Services process debit cards?

Yes. Blackbaud Merchant Services will process debit cards that do not require a PIN.

Does Blackbaud Merchant Services support ACH (direct debit) transactions?

Yes. Blackbaud Merchant Services can process ACH payments in Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT, Raiser’s Edge, Blackbaud Online Express, Blackbaud Luminate Online, Blackbaud eTapestry, Blackbaud Enrollment Management System, and Blackbaud School Website System.

Can I set up multiple Blackbaud Merchant Services accounts?

Yes. You may set up as many Blackbaud Merchant Services accounts as you need at no charge and for no monthly service fee.

Do I need to keep my current merchant accounts with Visa, MasterCard and American Express?

It’s not necessary. When you use Blackbaud Merchant Services, Blackbaud is your single point of contact for your Blackbaud software, gateway, merchant accounts, and PCI compliance. That means that when you have a question, you have just one company to call.

Can I keep my relationship with my local bank?

Yes. Blackbaud Merchant Services deposits funds into your bank(s) of choice.

What are the Blackbaud Merchant Services processing fees?

Blackbaud Merchant Services makes payment processing simple, secure, and affordable. Receive disbursements every business day* and save time with pre-reconciled bank deposits, automatic credit card updates, robust fraud management tools, and reduced PCI compliance. No setup or hidden fees. Our transaction fees are transparent and simple to understand. Please review the Blackbaud Merchant Services fees for a full listing by currency.

Can Blackbaud Merchant Services save my staff time on credit card processing?

Yes. In most cases, Blackbaud Merchant Services saves clients considerable time on reconciliation of credit card transactions with their bank statements because payments are grouped and disbursed together. Each donation is listed on your disbursement report, eliminating the guesswork of which payments or donations correspond to which bank deposit. Many nonprofits also eliminate wasteful double entry, allowing them to spend more time on their organization’s mission.

What currencies does Blackbaud Merchant Services process?

With Blackbaud Merchant Services, you can accept online payments from anywhere around the world. Blackbaud Merchant Services supports disbursements in U.S. dollars (USD), Canadian dollars (CAD), Australian dollars (AUD), British pounds (GBP), and Euros (EUR) and organizations located in the following countries: United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Belgium. Your nonprofit must have a legal entity/corporation and local bank account in the country of origin. For example, to disburse funds in USD, the bank account must be domiciled within the 50 United States. To disburse funds in CAD, the bank account must be domiciled in Canada; to disburse funds in AUD, the bank account must be domiciled in Australia; to disburse funds in GBP, the bank account must be domiciled in the UK; and to disburse funds in EUR, the bank account must be domiciled in the European country of origin.

In addition, if an Australian constituent makes a donation to a U.S. nonprofit using an Australian-issued credit card, the constituent will be charged the equivalent in Australian dollars and, in some cases, a small currency conversion fee may be charged by the issuer. The U.S. nonprofit, however, will have funds deposited to their U.S. bank account in USD and will not pay any cross-border fees or other currency conversion charges when using Blackbaud Merchant Services. For additional questions about Blackbaud Merchant Services, chat with Payment Services Support.

Disbursements

When will I receive my funds from Blackbaud?

Blackbaud Merchant Services provides funds when you need them. U.S., Canadian, and Australian customers can choose between daily and four-time-per-month disbursements. GBP and EUR processing customers receive disbursements four times per month.

Mobile Credit Card Processing

Can I accept credit card payments with my mobile phone or tablet?

Yes. Using Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal, which integrates with Blackbaud Merchant Services, you can process credit card payments from iPhone®, iPad®, or Android™ phones or tablets. Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal supports the BBPOS Chipper ™ 2X BT payment terminal. The Bluetooth-enabled terminal does not require an audio jack or any adapters. Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal transactions support swipe, chip, and contactless payments via Apple Pay, G Pay, Samsung Pay, and most tap-to-pay cards.

Can I process transactions remotely and at any time?

Yes. You’ll have unlimited 24/7 access to a secure, online portal where you can process payments at off-site events. Also, with Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal, you can process credit card transactions on your iPhone, iPad, or Android phone or tablet so that you never miss a payment. You process transactions by swiping the credit card through a Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal reader, inserting the card in the chip reader, or through contactless payments via Apple Pay, G Pay, Samsung Pay, and most tap-to-pay cards. Blackbaud charges the same rate for all types of transactions.

Which mobile phones and tablets are compatible with Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal?

Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal works with iPhone and iPad devices running the most current or previous version of the iOS operating system. It also works with phones or tablets running the most current or previous version of the Android operating system.  Please contact Payment Services Support with any questions.

Is Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal integrated directly with any Blackbaud applications?

Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal integrates directly with Blackbaud Merchant Services, which ensures all your transactions are in one place. Currently, the app does not directly integrate with any other Blackbaud apps. Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal is not currently available outside of the United States.

Is there an extra charge for Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal?

No. Since Blackbaud Merchant Services powers Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal, you pay 2.5% + $0.30 (+1% for AMEX) on every transaction with absolutely no hidden fees or mobile processing charges.

In what markets is Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal currently available?

Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal is currently available in the United States.

How can I process mobile credit card payments outside of the U.S.?

Blackbaud Merchant Services customers in Canada can still use the previous Blackbaud MobilePay app with the swipe-only readers. Click here to order swipe-only readers.

Does Blackbaud MobilePay provide the end consumer with a receipt or confirmation of payment?

Yes. Once you process the transaction, the consumer has the option to receive an automated email acknowledgement/confirmation. The email acknowledgement/confirmation is delivered to the consumer-provided email address. The Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal system-generated email acknowledgement/confirmation currently supports HTML format. Blackbaud does not currently support PDF confirmation/acknowledgements. In addition, Blackbaud Merchant Services retains a original copy of all Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal transactions. Blackbaud Merchant Services and the Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal app also enable organizations to resend the acknowledgement/confirmation. Please consult your tax advisor on your tax receipt requirements.

How do I get started with Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal?

Blackbaud Merchant Services admins have access to the Order Terminals page in the Blackbaud Merchant Services web portal under the Account Management menu. After you receive your mobile readers, download the Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal app, and you are ready to take payments! Note: The new mobile app only supports the new mobile readers. The new app does not support the old swipe-only readers.

Can I process refunds in the Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal app?

From the Blackbaud MobilePay Terminal app, you can refund an approved credit card or direct debit transaction to the cardholder as necessary. For a credit card transaction, you can refund all or part of the transaction amount. The refund amount cannot exceed the amount of the transaction that remains after any additional refunds. For a direct debit transaction, you must refund the full amount.

Reporting

What type of reporting is available?

You will have unlimited 24/7 access to a secure, online portal where you can see your transactions in real time, perform reconciliations, and run or export batch, detail, or custom reports. You will be able to save time reconciling your bank statements with detailed disbursement reports that show you which transactions were included in each deposit.

Security

Is it safe to use Blackbaud Merchant Services?

Absolutely. Blackbaud has been processing payments since 2000, and has helped nonprofits raise billions of dollars for their causes. Our Blackbaud Vault encrypts sensitive information and keeps your constituents secure by removing the risks associated with storing credit card information.

Is Blackbaud MobilePay credit card data secure?

Yes. Upon swipe, Blackbaud MobilePay encrypts and stores all credit card information on Blackbaud secure servers—not on the mobile phone or tablet.

What fraud-prevention features are available in Blackbaud Merchant Services?

All Blackbaud Merchant Services clients benefit from standard fraud prevention as well as proactive fraud monitoring by our in-house Compliance team. For additional protection, Blackbaud Merchant Services provides an added layer of fraud management to help specifically with online (card-not-present) transactions. Click here to learn more or download the data sheet.

Recurring Gifts

Can I process recurring gifts with Blackbaud Merchant Services?

Yes. Blackbaud Merchant Services can process single transactions and recurring gifts. If your organization has a sustained giving program, you can take advantage of our Credit Card Updater service. This service makes it possible to automatically update Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express data for credit cards from participating card-issuing banks. Currently, this service is available to U.S. and Canadian organizations using Blackbaud Altru, Blackbaud CRM, Blackbaud Luminate Online, and Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT/Raiser’s Edge.

Updating Credit Card Data

How can Blackbaud Merchant Services help me keep credit card data, such as expiration dates, current?

Blackbaud Merchant Services includes Credit Card Updater, which helps ensure credit card data is accurate. Blackbaud partners with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express to provide the service. When your organization enables it, credit card data for your sustaining gifts is analyzed each month to identify expired or out-of-date credit card information. Credit Card Updater provides new card numbers and expiration dates when available. Currently, the service is available to U.S. and Canadian organizations using Blackbaud Merchant Services in Blackbaud Altru, Blackbaud CRM, Blackbaud Luminate Online, and Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT/Raiser’s Edge. Learn more.

 

Is there an additional charge for Credit Card Updater?

Credit Card Updater is included with all Blackbaud Merchant Services accounts that process in US and Canadian dollars. By using Credit Card Updater, you won’t risk losing the gift by contacting the constituent about the expired card. This will also free up staff time that might otherwise be spent on outreach to donors whose cards have expired.

How do I sign up for Credit Card Updater?

 

If you are processing in U.S. dollars and created your Blackbaud Merchant Services account prior to March 20, 2019 or are processing in Canadian dollars and created your account prior to March 4, 2020, you will need to switch to the bundled package from within the Web Portal. Please visit the Credit Card Updater page for more information.

 

Storing Credit Card Data

Are there requirements my organization must adhere to when storing credit card numbers and payment tokens?

Yes. Please click here to learn more.

Digital Wallets

Does Blackbaud Merchant Services provide support for Apple Pay, Masterpass, and Visa Checkout?

Yes. Organizations processing with Blackbaud Merchant Services can accept one-time credit card donations using Apple Pay in Blackbaud Altru (online card-not-present sales, USD only), Blackbaud eTapestry (eCommerce and non-embedded DIY pages, USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR), Blackbaud Luminate Online (USD and CAD), Blackbaud TeamRaiser (USD and CAD), Blackbaud Online Express (donation forms with support coming for event/membership forms, USD, CAD, GPB, and EUR), Blackbaud Internet Solutions (Service Pack 19, USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR), and Blackbaud NetCommunity (Service Pack 5, USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR). In addition, Masterpass and Visa Checkout are supported for one-time credit card transactions in Blackbaud Altru (USD), Blackbaud eTapestry (USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR), Blackbaud Luminate Online (USD and CAD), Blackbaud TeamRaiser (USD and CAD), Blackbaud Online Express donation forms (USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR), Blackbaud Internet Solutions with Service Pack 19 (USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR), Blackbaud NetCommunity with Service Pack 5 (USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR), and Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT (USD). Blackbaud will continue to expand its digital wallet integration to other software solutions.

EMV Chip Cards

What is EMV?

U.S. banks are now issuing EMV chip credit cards. EMV is named after its original developers: Europay, MasterCard and Visa. These credit cards have a small computer chip that makes them more difficult to counterfeit with the intent of significantly reducing fraud for card-present transactions.

What happened in 2015 regarding credit cards with EMV chips?

On October 1, 2015, the card networks implemented chargeback rule changes that shifted the card-present liability in the event of a chargeback due to fraud to merchants/nonprofits if an EMV card is presented, but the transaction is not completed using an EMV/chip reader. Previously, if there was card-present fraud, the card issuer usually took on that liability and chargeback. However, as of October 1, 2015, if your nonprofit accepts payments in a card-present environment and does not have a terminal, virtual terminal, mobile device, or point-of-sale system that is enabled to process EMV secure chip cards, you may be liable in the event of a chargeback that results from fraud.

What is the impact on nonprofit organizations?

In general, nonprofits experience very low rates of fraud, typically 0.05 percent of charges are disputed as chargebacks and, of those, less than 20 percent are due to fraud. Nearly all fraudulent transactions are online transactions, which are not impacted by EMV changes (EMV only impacts card-present transactions). A typical organization that processes 4,000 transactions per year would have, on average, two chargebacks per year (mostly online charges). So, to most nonprofits, the impact of this change is minimal. Regardless, Blackbaud will provide certain additional protection to Blackbaud Merchant Services customers who accept credit and debit cards for card-present machine-read transactions. This additional protection started on the date of the liability shift (October 1, 2015) and will continue until 60 days after the date that Blackbaud supports EMV card readers. Please see below for more information.

How do EMV requirements affect PCI compliance?

Use of an EMV-compliant point-of-sale system has no correlation to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. EMV is intended to help reduce card-present fraud, and PCI compliance is intended to provide security around credit card data. Blackbaud has been validated as a Level 1 Service Provider and Payment Gateway. Use (or nonuse) of EMV-enabled equipment does not impact an organization’s PCI compliance.

Are Blackbaud solutions enabled to process EMV secure chip cards?

Blackbaud is committed to delivering an EMV-compliant point-of-sale (POS) and mobile processing solution. We recently made fundamental platform changes to Blackbaud Merchant Services that enable us to offer innovative new features, optimized functionality, and access to third-party technologies. As such, we are actively working on integration of EMV-certified terminals for Blackbaud Altru clients. Our goal is to offer terminals that not only accept chip cards, but also support contactless payments such as Apple Pay and tap-to-pay and provide optimized performance. We intend to deliver this solution to our Blackbaud Altru customers in the first half of 2020. In the meantime, Blackbaud will continue to provide liability coverage to Blackbaud Merchant Services clients, covering the cost of chargebacks that occur for fraudulent card-present transactions with chip-enabled cards that are swiped using a magnetic stripe reader.

We also now support point-to-point encryption hardware for back-office credit card processing in Altru. This can reduce PCI scope and costs for our customers. Learn more by visiting this page.

Do I need to purchase all new EMV-capable credit card readers when available from Blackbaud?

That will be a decision your organization will need to make. Existing credit card readers—including Blackbaud MobilePay—will continue to work for current credit cards and new EMV chip cards by swiping the cards’ magnetic stripe or keying in the card information. There are no industry requirements or fines forcing the purchase of new card readers. However, as of October 1, 2015, if your organization does not have an EMV card-capable point-of-sale system, and your customer (constituent) is using an EMV card, you will still be liable for a chargeback that results from fraud until you also have an EMV-capable credit card reader. However, that chargeback may be covered by Blackbaud’s liability protection (see below for details).

What is the liability risk to my nonprofit to continue using my current card readers?

How much fraudulent card-present activity is your organization currently experiencing for in-person transactions? The risk is only for fraudulent transactions that have an EMV chip used in a card-present transaction. For these charges, there is a liability shift. Typically, the risk is extremely low for nonprofit organizations. Regardless, Blackbaud will provide certain additional protection to Blackbaud Merchant Services customers who accept credit and debit cards for card-present machine-read transactions. This additional protection started on the date of the liability shift (October 1, 2015) and will continue until 60 days after the date the Blackbaud supports EMV card readers. Please see below for more information.

Does Blackbaud provide protection for Blackbaud Merchant Services’ card-present transactions made with an EMV chip card?

Yes. Blackbaud provides certain additional protection to Blackbaud Merchant Services customers who accept credit and debit cards for card-present, machine-read transactions. This additional protection started on October 1, 2015 and will continue until 60 days after the date that Blackbaud supports EMV card readers. During this time, Blackbaud will cover the cost of chargebacks that occur for card-present transactions with chip-enabled cards that are swiped using a magnetic stripe reader. This additional protection is limited to Blackbaud Merchant Services customers using Blackbaud Altru, Blackbaud Merchant Services Virtual Terminal, and Blackbaud MobilePay transactions for chip-enabled cards that are swiped using a magnetic stripe reader. This additional protection includes transactions for the purchase of goods and services for which the nonprofit has a financial loss such as ticket sales, event registrations, scheduled program registrations, membership sales, and merchandise sales. Note, however, that fraudulent, card-present transactions for the purpose of making a financial donation to you are not included in this additional protection program. To receive the liability coverage, your organization must meet all of the criteria above and you must indicate in your communications with Blackbaud’s Chargebacks Team that you have suffered a financial loss. Please email chargebacks@blackbaud.com with any questions.

Does Blackbaud provide protection for CyberSource gateway card-present transactions made with an EMV chip card?

Yes. Until we have an EMV-capable POS solution available, Blackbaud will provide additional protection to U.S. customers processing payments using a CyberSource gateway in Blackbaud Altru. This protection will start on January 1, 2016 and will continue until 60 days after the date that Blackbaud supports EMV card readers. During this time, we will reimburse clients the cost of chargebacks up to $1,000 per card-present transaction that are due to the EMV liability shift. This protection is limited to CyberSource gateway customers using Blackbaud Altru for card-present transactions with chip-enabled cards that are swiped using a magnetic stripe reader. Coverage is limited to transactions for the purchase of goods or services where the nonprofit suffers a financial loss (such as ticket sales, event registrations, scheduled program registrations, membership sales, merchandise sales, and group ticket sales Fraudulent, card-present transactions for the purpose of making a financial donation to the organization are not included in this additional protection program.

To receive reimbursement, customers must email chargebacks@blackbaud.com and 1.) indicate they have suffered a financial loss and 2.) provide Blackbaud with documentation from their payment processor that the chargeback resulted from the EMV liability shift on an EMV (chip) card transaction and that the cardholder was disputed in accordance with their processor’s requirements but settled in favor of the cardholder. Blackbaud will review all requests and refunds will be subject to Blackbaud approval.

Please contact chargebacks@blackbaud.com with questions.

Upon availability of an EMV-compliant point-of-sale system, what will the cost be to the nonprofit?

The cost of an EMV-compliant point-of-sale terminal will be significantly more expensive than traditional card readers and is ultimately dependent on the provider that Blackbaud partners with and the specific feature set that best suits your organization.

Is there a plan to eliminate the magnetic stripe in the long run?

There are no specific plans to eliminate the magnetic stripe. Worldwide chip migration will be gradual, and until we reach ubiquity, the magnetic stripe on the back of the card will continue to provide global interoperability.

Is there a liability shift for EMV cards that applies to online/website credit card transactions?

No. EMV chip card liability rules apply only to card-present transactions in which you read the card information from a machine. They do not apply when credit card numbers are typed into a website or other system.

Will online transactions be impacted at all by the move to EMV chip cards?

As EMV technology becomes more widely used for card-present transactions, it is expected that fraudsters may shift more to online or card-not-present transactions. Nonprofits should be prepared for this anticipated shift and utilize fraud-prevention tools. Blackbaud Merchant Services offers premium Fraud Management in addition to its standard fraud-prevention settings.