Nonprofits are generally required to set up electronic payments to receive disbursements from Benevity. As an exception, paper checks can be issued to nonprofits based in the United States or Canada.
When a nonprofit registers a bank or PayPal account for payments in the Benevity Causes Portal, Benevity runs EFT verification and fraud protection checks before the account is approved for disbursements. Bank verification checks are now automated for US nonprofits only. This is one of the Verification controls in the nonprofit due diligence framework. It reduces payment-risk issues when bank details are entered, before funds move, and works alongside Benevity fraud protection and transaction monitoring practices.
Verifying US bank accounts in real time
When a nonprofit in the US sets up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to receive disbursements, Benevity verifies their bank account details in real time. Automated checks validate that the account is open and correctly formatted, and that the bank account name aligns with banking records and the nonprofit’s profile name on Benevity. If those checks cannot be confirmed, the application is routed for manual review. This helps reduce the risk of misdirected or fraudulent payouts.
US-based nonprofits connect their bank account in their profile in the Benevity Causes Portal. When they submit their banking details, Benevity runs automated checks that include:
- Confirming the account number and routing details are valid and can receive funds
- Verifying that the bank account name matches the nonprofit’s legal organization name
Most US submissions are validated automatically, so the nonprofit does not wait on a full manual review for accounts that pass automated checks. Nonprofits also receive a confirmation email when banking information is added or changed, which helps them identify unexpected updates to their payment details.
Sending US applications for manual review
Not every submission can be confirmed automatically. Applications still go through Benevity’s manual review process when automated verification cannot confirm the account, including when:
- Bank details are incomplete, incorrectly formatted, or do not match bank records
- Ownership cannot be confirmed (for example, the legal name on the bank account does not match the nonprofit)
- Potential high-risk accounts are detected during verification
- Automated verification is temporarily unavailable, or the nonprofit’s country is not yet on the automated path
In these cases, the nonprofit will need to upload a supporting bank document so Benevity’s Financial Operations team can complete a manual review of the account information before the account is approved for disbursements.
Expanding automated EFT verification beyond the United States
Automated real-time EFT verification is currently only available for US-based nonprofits. Nonprofits in Canada and other countries continue to use document upload and manual review until automated coverage expands.
EFT verification coverage for additional countries is planned for the end of 2026.
Verifying EFT details manually
Outside the United States, and when a US application cannot be confirmed automatically, nonprofits upload supporting bank documents for the same manual review and approval process.