Payment card verification is the one-time process in which a parent carries out a small transaction (on their credit or debit card) to prove that they are at least 18yrs of age (the minimum age one can hold a payment card in most countries).
Alongside proving the above, this process leaves a paper-trail (bank statements) that can allow an adult to see if their child used their payment card to get this verification without their permission. This adds an extra layer of rigor to the process.
Parents in the USA will pay $1 (USD) while those outside that country will pay £0.30 (GBP). All proceeds collected are donated to kid focussed charities.
Not all permissions require parents to go through the payment card verification process. For example, a parent can toggle permissions for push notifications at will (these are opt-out), while e.g. access to a kid’s GPS information will most certainly require this level of verification. This is because each permission will carry a varying amount of risk hence KWS deals with this dynamically (and in cognisance of the laws of the country the user is from).
How it works
Step 1
Credit card charges in their entirety go to the SuperAwesome’s Kid-Safe Fund, which invests in charities involved in protecting children around the world.
Step 2
Here the parent is asked to confirm that they are indeed the parent of the child.
Step 3
The parent is assured that the money drawn from their account will be given to charity ($1 in the USA or £0.30 outside).
Step 4
The parent provides their credit/debit card information and clicks submit. The payment is processed instantly.
Step 5
Success! Once the transaction is successfully completed, the parent is returned to the permissions view where the ‘Welcome Magazine’ permission will be enabled.
The parent can disable and re-enable this permission in future without having to go through the CC verification process once more…