What are velocity settings?
Velocity settings are a set of transaction thresholds defined uniquely for your church that help ensure the safety of your ACH Activity. They are similar to the thresholds your bank puts on ATM transactions to detect & prevent fraud. E.g., some banks may not allow account holders to withdraw more than $200 in a single transaction & no more than $400 in a single day. They apply to ACH & RDC transactions only & do not impact contributions made via credit card.
The following ProfitStars velocity settings are in place:
- Maximum Dollar Amount per Transaction
- Maximum Dollar Amount per Day
- Maximum Dollar Amount per Rolling 14 Day Period
- Maximum Single Number of Transactions per Day
- Maximum Number of Transaction per Rolling 14-Day Period
How do they impact end of year giving?
It's important to know that transactions falling outside of these established settings will be declined. Every year in December, we see a rise in declined transactions due to velocity settings. This happens because your velocity settings may not be high enough to account for the spike in contributions that come in at the end of the year.
When this happens the following occurs:
- An online donor will not be allowed to complete the transaction online, but they will receive a message that an issue has occurred & encourages them to contact the church.
- ProfitStars will send an email to the designated church contact from Velocity@selectpayment.com (be sure to add this address to your contact list, so you will receive the email)
- The church can contact the donor directly & offer the following solutions:
- If the church accepts online giving via credit card the donor can use their debit card or credit card instead of the eCheck option.
- The member can break up the contribution multiple transactions. For example, if the church Maximum Single Transaction Amount is $25,000 & the member would like to donate $50,000, the transactions will be declined. The member can generate two separate transactions for $25,000 instead of one for $50,000. Depending on the other velocity limits & member transaction Activity for that day the giving may need to be broken up over several days.
For RDC transactions that fall outside of the established velocity settings:
- If the Amount ($) exceeds the single transaction limit, check(s) will need to be taken to bank for manual deposit
- If Maximum Dollar Amount per Day or per 14-Day Period exceed limit, the items that rejected in the batch can be scanned over the next few day or taken to the bank for manual deposit
- If count limits are exceeded (Single Day or over a 14-Day Period), items that rejected can be scanned over the next few day or taken to the bank for manual deposit
Where can I find the velocity settings for my church?
In October, FellowshipOne will send a notification to the primary point of contact on your ProfitStars account for FellowshipOne with a record of your unique velocity settings. You can also find these settings in the original notification letter with your ProfitStars account information. This notification may also be available in your support case history with FellowshipOne & accessible by the designated support contact. Just use the login at the top of this page to Manage Cases.
Can velocity settings be changed?
After reviewing the velocity limits for your account, you can request an increase to any velocity settings by emailing FinancialServices@fellowshipone.com. Please allow five business days for our Payment Services team to respond.
In order for ProfitStars to consider a change to your existing settings, you must submit the following documentation along with the new limit amounts requested:
- Current Balance Sheet
- Current P&L Statement
- Previous Three Months Bank Statements
- December Bank Statement From Prior Year
For requests to be considered & in place for end-of-year giving, all documentation must be received the last business day in November. ProfitStars may take up to 2 weeks to respond so requests submitted after this date may not be processed & in effect in time for year end giving.
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