Your web browser is not supported You're using Internet Explorer, some features might not work. Please switch to another browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for a better experience.


An official website of the United States government Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** ( A locked padlock ) or **https://** means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Federal Election Commission | United States of America Calendar
           Glossary
          Search
              Search


Menu
      Home
      Campaign finance data
        All data
            Raising
            Spending
            Loans and debts
            Filings and reports
            Candidates
            Committees
            Bulk data
            Campaign finance statistics
        Find elections. Search by state or ZIP code
          Look up contributions from specific individuals
      Help for candidates and committees
        All compliance resources
            Guides
            Forms
            Dates and deadlines
            Trainings
        Learn about electronic filing
          Find and contact your committee's analyst
      Legal resources
        All legal resources
            Advisory opinions
            Enforcement
            Statutes
            Legislation
            Regulations
            Court cases
            Policy and other guidance
        Search across legal resources
          Search guidance documents
      About
        All about the FEC
            News and announcements
            Commission meetings
            Mission and history
            Leadership and structure
            Reports about the FEC
            Careers
            Working with the FEC
            Contact
        Introduction to campaign finance and elections


- Home
- ›
      FEC Record: Advisory opinions
- ›
      AO 2015-11: App for making contributions by rounding up purchases made on contributors’ credit cards permissible

FEC Record: Advisory opinionsAO 2015-11: App for making contributions by rounding up purchases made on contributors’ credit cards permissibleDecember 15, 2015 A limited liability company (LLC) taxed as a corporation may provide an app that “rounds up” each transaction on a user's credit or debit card to the next dollar, and provides the difference between that amount and the original charge—minus a service
    fee—to political committees or other nonprofits chosen by the user. The Commission concluded that this arrangement would not result in the LLC making contributions or serving as a conduit or intermediary, but was unable to agree on the legal basis
    for its conclusion by the required four affirmative votes. **Background**
     FYP, LLC, plans to develop a contribution processing platform called "MyChange." The app will round up each credit or debit card transaction to the next dollar and transmit the difference between that amount and the original charge to political committees
    or other nonprofit organizations designated by the user. For example, if a user were to purchase a cup of coffee for $2.30, the app would charge an additional $.70 to the user's card and transmit that amount, minus FYP's service fee, to the user's
    designated recipients (which could include federal political committees). To enroll in MyChange, users must provide their credit or debit card information. If they intend to use the app to make political contributions, they must also verify their eligibility to make contributions under federal law and provide their contributor
    information, such as employer and occupation. Users will select recipients for their rounded up contributions from a pre-determined list included in the app. FYP will update that list each month and will include only committees that are in good standing
    with the Federal Election Commission and that share "users' ideology and values." Within one business day after a user's credit or debit card is charged, funds that are designated as rounded-up amounts will be transferred from FYP's merchant account to the user's indicated recipient, less FYP's service fee. At the end of each month,
    FYP will reconcile funds processed via the MyChange app with its internal records. User fees charged by FYP will be deducted from the rounded-up amounts before the rounded-up amounts are remitted to the political committees or organizations who are the recipients. The service fees will be calculated as a percentage of the total funds
    charged to the user's credit or debit card in a given transaction. FYP expects the fee to cover all of its costs in providing the processing and forwarding services and to provide FYP with a "reasonable profit." **Analysis**
     The Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and Commission regulations generally prohibit any corporation from making contributions in connection with federal elections. 52 U.S.C. § 30118(a); 11 CFR 114.2(b)(1). The term "contribution" includes any
    "direct or indirect payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money, or any services, or anything of value...in connection with any [federal] election." 52 U.S.C. §30118(b)(2); 11 CFR 114.1(a)(1). "Anything of value" includes in-kind
    contributions, such as the provision of goods or services without charge or at a charge that is less than the usual and normal charge. 11 CFR 100.52(d)(1). The "usual and normal charge" is "the price of those goods in the market from which they ordinarily
    would have been purchased at the time of the contribution, or "[the] commercially reasonable rate prevailing at the time the services were rendered." 11 CFR 100.52(d)(2). The Commission concluded that FYP's proposal would not result in prohibited corporate contributions from FYP to any recipient political committee, but the Commission was unable to agree on the legal basis for its conclusion by the required four affirmative
    votes. Nor could the Commission agree whether a MyChange user’s payment of fees for the processing of a contribution to a political committee would constitute a contribution from the user to the recipient committee. Similarly, the Commission also concluded, but could not agree on the legal basis by the required four affirmative votes, that FYP would not be acting as a "conduit or intermediary" of earmarked contributions when processing contributions from users to
    recipient political committees. Commission regulations prohibit corporations from serving as conduits or intermediaries of earmarked contributions to federal candidates. 11 CFR 110.6(b)(2)(ii).
     Date Issued: December 2, 2015; 6 pages **Resources:** Advisory Opinion 2015-11 [PDF]
    Commission discussion of AOR 2015-11
 Author
          Myles MartinIcon of email being sentPublic Affairs Specialist


Read next: CREW v. FEC (15-cv-02038)(New)
 Related: Explore campaign finance data »


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


About
          Careers
          Press
          Contact
   Privacy and security policy
          Plain language
          Accessibility statement
          Strategy, budget and performance
 No FEAR Act
          Open government
          Protected Voices
          USA.gov
          Inspector General
 FOIA
          OpenFEC API
          GitHub repository
          Release notes
          FEC.gov status


Federal Election Commission
 The FEC's Twitter page
            The FEC's YouTube page Sign up for FECMail
 This information is produced and disseminated at U.S. taxpayer expense.


Hide glossary Glossary Search terms