Donating to an open source project via bank transfer is never offered. Why not? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: cedric!
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2023, 01:44:10 pm
content: My apologies for starting an off topic thread, I don't know where else on this forum to ask this.I've noticed that none of the open source website offer a bank account number and an account name for donations.What are the downsides of publicly listing a bank account / account holder name?Why does nobody do that?

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2023, 04:45:56 pm
content: You don't want to expose your own personal bank account, so you would need to make a separate one. This is much more complicated than registering for PayPal or any other payment processor.You then will be receiving small payments from different countries, which may cause issues with fraud controls. You will likely have to talk about that to the bank at least once, may be more.And sometimes people will type incorrect number and will want a refund, so you will be playing tech support.International transfers are also expensive.If you are doing this to save processing fees, it is not going to be worth it.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2023, 05:05:13 pm
content: Quote from: ataradov on December 09, 2023, 04:45:56 pmand unless you are taking many millions (i.e. the bank is making lots of money of you) the the bank might just close your account and tell you to find another bank they don't want you as customer

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 10:00:57 am
content: Quote from: langwadt on December 09, 2023, 05:05:13 pmsending or receiving money to or from another country is a matter of asking SWIFT code from your bank. i asked once and they gave to me, of course they asked why i need it, i told them i need to pay to international seller direct, no objection from them.. but then guess what? i got conned, it was a long time ago...https://www.commbank.com.au/support.imt.what-is-a-bank-identification-code.html

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 10:42:24 am
content: It's not unusual for banks to charge 1-off fees of $20-30 or more for international transfers, making it uneconomic to do small amounts.Depending on how the OS project is set up legally, they may need traceability of the source of donations, which IME you rarely get with an incoming bank transfer.All this depends on both the sending and receiving bank, so hard to predict.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 10:49:17 am
content: Welcome to payment monopolies.They throw their weight around and lobby to prevent any cheaper payment methods existing.There's a small chance that Twitter/X may do what they're suggesting they will and become the "everything app / wechat" with fair payment fees.Say what you want about Elon but he probably does have the reach and resources to push past all the roadblocks that have been put in place to make new payment methods so hard to setup.

author: JohanH
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 11:01:16 am
content: I'm no expert, but this is my observations. It's a very different situation within EU and Europe where the bank account isn't a secret and you can't basically scam anyone when they publish their IBAN (International Bank Account Number). And IBAN transactions are basically free within Europe. Then again, many European countries have strict laws with regards to donations and in my country it's basically forbidden to receive donations without a permit from the authorities (permit is usually time limited and you have to report etc.). So projects that end up receiving most money seems to be located in the US, where donations are permitted, and where PayPal, credit card and similar are more convenient to use. If the US implemented the IBAN system and the banks worked more like in Europe when it comes to money transfer, it would be another matter.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 12:48:13 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on December 10, 2023, 10:49:17 amapply credit card, register with paypal.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 01:46:16 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on December 10, 2023, 12:48:13 pmso your choice is VISA or Mastercard ..

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 01:48:37 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on December 10, 2023, 10:49:17 amthe market cap of visa and mastercard put together is bigger than tesla

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 05:18:13 pm
content: Quote from: langwadt on December 10, 2023, 01:48:37 pmi think the market cap for either food or clothing is bigger. no? card annual charge is only like $30 around here, just dont pay late...

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2023, 05:37:23 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on December 10, 2023, 05:18:13 pmfood and clothing is lots of competing companies, Visa and mastercard are two companies with pretty much a duopoly on payments

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2023, 06:03:46 am
content: Quote from: JohanH on December 10, 2023, 11:01:16 amDonations made outside of an organized structure (such as a non-profit organization) are problematic in many countries. While it depends on local laws, as an individual, past a relatively small amount, you'll be assumed to be doing business, doesn't matter if you call the income "donations" or if it's as if you sold a service. So you need to be registered to be allowed to do business and will be taxed on it as anyone else.That's why many open-source projects past the 1-2 person thing do create at least a non-profit org. That solves the issue with relatively minimal overhead.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2023, 06:30:24 am
content: Quote from: langwadt on December 10, 2023, 01:48:37 pmcase/point.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2023, 06:32:33 am
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on December 10, 2023, 05:18:13 pmThat's less of the problem.The problem is the 3.0 - 4.4% transaction fee the company is paying for accepting CC payments and the fact that you, as the consumer, are paying this.All the prices have been raised to pay it.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2023, 08:17:30 am
content: I treat it as 'service'. Convenient to pay anywhere... since banks dont provide it. If you dont give the service, someone else will, as long as there's demand. Same thing with paypal elecrow and what not, they asked for some percent. Same thing with tesla or any businesses for the sake, they charge for something..

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2023, 12:36:04 pm
content: Maybe FedNOW and SEPA Instant will get integration?Instant payments cause a lot of fraud though. Zelle is know for fraud and my bank refuses to implement SEPA QR support for fraud reasons. Perhaps it would be better if "instant" payments had a month of escrow.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2023, 10:01:49 pm
content: Quote from: langwadt on December 10, 2023, 01:46:16 pmSurely you can still pay via bank with paypal. But you'll still get hit with a fee that is close to CC, so not much advantage to doing it.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2023, 10:06:20 pm
content: Quote from: Marco on December 11, 2023, 12:36:04 pmBut then you just end up with chargeback fraud + having to pay people to verify cases. Which just makes it into a normal credit card at that point.

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2023, 10:49:38 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on December 11, 2023, 10:06:20 pmRequire a court order, should limit abuse.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 29, 2024, 06:39:25 pm
content: Quote from: Marco on December 11, 2023, 12:36:04 pmOnly because users are stupid. If someone you don't know asks for Zelle (or Green Dot or Walmart gift cards or ....) for a transaction you should then know that they are a criminal trying to defraud you. Should be easy, but people get conned every day. It isn't the fault of Zelle.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2024, 07:12:07 am
content: Are you sure?For example looking athttps://wiki.freecad.org/donateI see:SEPA bank transfer: IBAN BE04 0019 2896 4531Which is apparently a bank account number directly affiliated with the FreeCAD project.I think that KiCad also has a number for direct bank transfer, but you have to dig a bit to make it visible.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2024, 07:24:07 am
content: Thanks to (Transfer)Wise I have bank account numbers in the EU (Belgium) and USA that people there can transfer money to basically for free. And of course normal bank accounts here in NZ and also in Russia and USA (both of which I've lived/worked in recently). I can add local accounts in Australia, UK, Canada, Singapore, Turkey, or Hungary on Wise in minutes.It's not hard.If anyone wants to make a donation LMK.