Website Info - Updating Your Payment Method

If you receive an email from Hope Alive! about a donation failing to process, or you know your credit card or banking information has changed, you can update your payment method securely on the Hope Alive! website.  Most often, donations fail to process because a donor's credit card has expired.

Editing an Existing Payment Method

To edit an existing payment method (if, for example, you plan to use the same credit card, with the same account number, and you just need to update the expiration date, billing address or other information), follow these steps.

1. Locate the word Login on the top right side of the Hope Alive! website, www.hopealiveafrica.org, and log into your donor account. If you are already logged in,  you will see My Account on the right side of the top menu, and you can skip this step. 

2. Click on My Account in the top menu bar and select My Giving from the drop-down list. 

3. On the My Giving page, scroll down to Payment Methods. You will see any donations you have given through our system, any recurring donations you have set up, and a list of your payment methods. Locate the payment method you wish to update and click “Edit.”

4. You can now update everything except the card/account number:  Your card’s expiration date, the CVV (three-digit numeric security code that appears on the back of your card), the name that appears on the card, and/or your card’s billing address. After making any necessary changes, click the “save” button. This will take you back to a summary page showing your sponsored children, your recent donations, your recurring donations and your payment methods. That’s it! You’re all set! If your card has a new number, you will need to add it as a new method–see below.

To Add a New Payment Method:
Follow these steps if you need to add a new payment card or link to your bank account for an EFT (electronic fund transfer).

1. Locate the word Login on the top right side of the Hope Alive! website, hopealiveafrica.org and log into your donor account. If you are already logged in,  you will see My Account on the right side of the top menu, and you can skip this step. 

2. Click on My Account in the top menu bar and select My Giving from the drop-down list. 

3. On the My Giving page, scroll down to Payment Methods. You will see any donations you have given through our system, any recurring donations you have set up, and lastly a list of your payment methods.

4. In the Payment Methods area, click on Add New. This brings up a new page to enter your bank or credit card information. 

5. At the top of the page, click on either “card” or “check payment” (meaning a direct electronic fund transfer from your bank account). Please consider using this method (EFT, or Electronic Fund Transfer), as credit cards cost HA! between 2.5% and 4% in processing fees compared to a direct withdrawal, which only costs $0.35. Another advantage is that this method of payment does not expire, so you don't have to remember to update it.

6. After adding the new payment information, click Save. This will take you to a “Summary” page, where you will see a list of your sponsored children on top, your recent giving history, a list of your recurring donations, and your payment method(s). You should see the payment method you just entered at the bottom of this page. Don't delete your old payment method yet--see steps 7 and 8 below.

*Important! If you are replacing a payment method that is currently used for a recurring donation, please follow the next two steps to complete the updated payment method.

7. From the drop-down list, click on My Giving again. Scroll to the recurring donation section. Click on Edit to the left of your donation. To the right of your current giving method (under Monthly), select the downward pointing caret (?). Select the new payment method you added and press Save Gift.  If you have more than one recurring donation (for example, more than one sponsored child, or a sponsored child plus a strategic partnership donation), you will need to update your payment method for each one.

8. Once you have updated the recurring donation(s), scroll back down to the payment method area again, to click Delete on the payment method you would like to remove. Please do not delete a payment method until after you have added a new one AND linked it to any recurring donations.

Your Information Is Secure

Hope Alive! takes protecting your banking and credit card information very seriously. Once you have entered your credit card or banking information securely on our site, it is sent to your bank to verify, then the bank sends Hope Alive! a token back authenticating your bank information. This bank token is what Hope Alive! stores on our site--NOT your banking information. If this token is ever stolen, no one else can use the token. The token must come from the Hope Alive! server for the bank to accept the request.