New standards planned for electronic donations to charity
Moscow, 28.07.2014
The “Electronic Money” Association and the Association of Fundraisers have started to draw up universal requirements for payment services for charitable fundraising. Representatives of payments organisations agreed to incorporate their suggestions in new systems they are developing. The new systems for payments will incorporate automatic payments methods (direct debits) as standard services. Clients will only once need to give their card number and the sum to be transferred. Their donations will be debited regularly without any need for further action by the client. In this way individuals will be able to support charities of their choice on a regular basis. Termination or changes to these payments will also be simple.
Charities will find it easier to analyse their fundraising success and will enjoy more flexible ways of communicating with their donors, directly through the electronic direct debits system. There will also be better use of “mobile terminals”, means of using payment cards through the mobile phone system. They can be used at fundraising events, so as to receive donations instantly in their accounts.
The designers of the system say that the two sectors are jointly establishing new methods, which will ensure such direct debit contracts will be compatible with new regulations for charitable activity. They will also look into ways to simplify identification by credit companies of people making donations, as is required by Russian legislation.
These new methods for people to make donations will make it easier to raise money. And small not-for-profit organisations will have instruments they never had before. The “Electronic Money” Association and the Association of Fundraisers have invited other interested organisations to join in the planning of best practice.
The Association of Fundraisers say that along with traditional means, over the past three to five years the number of donations to charity via the internet has increased several fold. Some NGOs say that more than 50% of donations are now made remotely, using bank cards and other electronic means.
Author: Yulia Vyatkina
