Busting myths about donating online, part two

We continue our quest to win over cheque-writing donors by addressing some common concerns. The worry this time: it’s not safe to give your credit card number to a website.

Myth: Cheques are safer than donating online.

Not by a long shot. Once a cheque is in the mail, its security it out of anyone’s hands. When donating online, your data is actually protected by layers of encryption and authentication.

For example, Chimp uses Digicert technology, which encrypts all the information you provide. So if anyone does happen to intercept it (which is highly unlikely), the information is unreadable. Like all reputable e-commerce websites, most of the Chimp site is “locked,” which means it’s a secure area. You log into the secure part of the site to do any kind of transaction, like adding or sending money.

After a transaction has occurred online, you’re always given a confirmation. So you know your money is going where you intended it to go immediately. With cheques, the process usually takes weeks, if not months. They can be lost in the mail or intercepted, and you only find out that’s happened if you call the charity to follow up and they tell you the cheque was never received.

And don’t forget, your bank account number is on each cheque you write.

Next myth on the busting block: Donating online costs more.

Does something stop you from donating online? Tell us, and we’ll do our best to bust it.