There are a few differences between the built-in merchant account with Flipcause and apps such as Venmo and Cash.
| Flipcause Merchant Account | Venmo & Cash apps |
|---|---|
| Business merchant account | Consumer services, primarily designed to facilitate payments between friends and family |
| Takes payments from any credit card; user not required to have a Flipcause Account to process payments | The paying party must have their own account with the service in order to send you payment through it |
| Transfers take 3-5 business days to clear | Transfers take 1-2 business days to clear |
| Limit of $50,000 per transfer | Limit of $500-$3,000 per transfer |
The key difference is that anyone can process a credit card payment to your organization via Flipcause, whereas with these services only other members of the service can send a payment. While this poses a reduction of friction and a greater convenience for your supporters, it also means there is an increased security and liability risk to your organization when you allow payments without any verification of the paying user.
This additional risk is mitigated on our end by an added layer of security - and resulting additional processing time - when initiating transfers from the Flipcause Merchant Account to a bank account. That said, all funds are available for withdrawal right away.