Kapipal FAQ

Basics

What is Kapipal?

Kapipal is a service to easily collect money through the Internet.

Who can use Kapipal?

Everyone who needs to raise money for group purchase, charity, personal project, birthday or wedding present, and so on.

How does Kapipal work?

1. You create a Kapipal page and set the target amount you need to raise.
2. Send the URL of the Kapipal Page to the people who want to collect money from.
3. People go to your Kapipal Page and send you the money with their credit card or PayPal account.

Is Kapipal an investment mechanism?

No. All money transfers are donations and there are no return for contributors.

Is it secure?

The Kapipal payment process is completely secure. All money transfers and sensible operations are managed by the secure and popular PayPal service.

Do you save my credit card information?

PayPal processes all of the transactions on Kapipal. No one sees your credit card information besides PayPal, not even us.

What fees do Kapipal charge?

Currently, the service is free! People send money directly to your PayPal account. PayPal may charge you some processing fees.

Who is behind Kapipal?

Kapipal is a startup of Tailmedia, an Italian company specialized in Web 2.0. Tailmedia also created QualeTeatro, the search engine for the Italian Theatre.

Sending Money

Do I have to register with Kapipal to send money?

No, you don’t need to register with Kapipal to send a contribution.

How much can I send?

It depends on the Kapipal. Some Kapipals allow free contributions, so you can send any amount you want. Some Kapipals allow only set amounts of money transfers; for example: $10, $25, or $50.

Which payment methods do you accept?

You send money through PayPal, so usually through your credit card. However, you can use any payment method accepted by PayPal.

Do I have to be a PayPal customer to send money?

No, you just need a credit card.

If I make a contribution, when will my money be withdrawn?

When you make a contribution, your credit card or PayPal account is charged immediately.

Receiving Money

How much can I raise?

Each Kapipal can raise up to USD 1,000,000 (or equivalent in your currency).

Can I change the target amount of a Kapipal once it has started?

Yes, you can change it by the My Kapipals page.

Is there a maximum number of contributors allowed for a Kapipal?

There is no maximum number of contributors allowed for a Kapipal.

What’s the difference between a Public and Private Kapipal?

By default, a Kapipal Page is "private", meaning it is not visible to search engines. This is done via the the HTML Meta robots attribute. Only people who know the URL address can navigate to the Kapipal Page. This protects your privacy. It is entirely up to you to spread the word and share the URL with your friends.

When you create a Kapipal, you can also choose to set it as "public": in this case Google and other search engines will index the page and it may show up in their results. Choosing this option will attract even more people and potential contributors.

How can a Public Kapipal succeed?

When you create a Public Kapipal, you have to spread the word over the Internet and convince people to donate. Here are some tips:

  • Insert an accurate description. Describe who you are and why people should trust you.
  • Insert a link to your website and Twitter account, so that people can check it out.
  • Insert a nice video or custom image.
  • Share the Kapipal URL on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other sites. Click the Facebook Like and Send buttons on your Kapipal page. Spread the word among your friends, and invite them to do the same.
  • Link your Kapipal page from your website or write a post about it on your blog; prove the Kapipal is really yours. You will find some ready-to-use badges for your website on the Kapipal Page.

Kapipals have duration. How long can a Kapipal last?

The set duration of a Kapipal page is an incentive to people to contribute immediately. A Kapipal can last up to 1 year. The time limit is set by the Kapipal creator when a Kapipal is started. Once the Kapipal is expired, people can’t send you any more money through the Kapipal Page.

What if a Kapipal reaches its target amount before time expires?

If a Kapipal reaches its target amount before its time expires, Kapipal will continue to accept contributions until the full time period expires.

What if a Kapipal doesn't collect its target amount in time?

The Kapipal page remains online, but stops accepting contributions. Of course, the money you raised is still yours! You can use the partial raised amount for your need. And you can start your Kapipal again to try to collect more money.

How can I see the list and details of contributors?

Since all money transfer are managed by PayPal, you can view the list and details of donations from the PayPal site.

How can I add an offline donation?

If a donor or a fundraiser sends you an offline contribution (e.g. a check), you can make that donation to appear in your page. Login and open your Kapipal page. Click the Add Offline Donation link under the "Manage Kapipal" section on the right. Only the creator of the fundraising page can add an offline donation.

What kind of projects are acceptable?

PayPal processes all contributions on Kapipal, so projects must fall under the PayPal Legal Agreement.

Can I leave Kapipal at any time?

Yes, you can. From My Account, choose Delete Account.

Rewards

What is a reward?

Rewards are typically items produced by the project itself — a copy of the CD, a print from the show, a T-shirt. You can offer rewards in exchange for different contribution levels. Rewards enable you to engage fans, build trust, and provide an opportunity for more people to get involved.

Who is the responsible for configuring, fulfilling, and delivering the rewards?

The author of the fundraising page is the held fully responsible for the rewards. Kapipal.com does not guarantee that rewards will be delivered or satisfactory to the donors.

Are rewards required?

No. Authors do not have to offer rewards.

What items are prohibited as rewards?

Prohibited items include:

  • Financial incentives, returns, and repayment
  • Raffles, lotteries, and sweepstakes
  • Coupons, discounts, and gift certificates
  • Alcohol, tobacco, and drugs
  • Pornography

For a full list of prohibited items and activities, please review the PayPal Legal Agreement.

Is there a way to limit the quantity of a reward?

Yes. Rewards can be limited to a certain available number.

How can I get my donors' information (mailing address, T-shirt size, etc.) to fulfill rewards?

Once rewards are configured, Kapipal saves donors' info, such as email and mailing address. Donors' data is visible only to the fundraiser through My Kapipals page. The fundraiser can download donors' data as Excel-compatible (CSV) spreadsheets.

PayPal and Money Transfer

What is PayPal and how does it work with Kapipal?

PayPal is a popular service that allows online transactions to occur instantly and securely. With PayPal, individuals and businesses can send and receive payments via the Internet. Kapipal has integrated its functionality with PayPal's popular service to provide the most efficient and effective means to collect money. For more information on PayPal and to sign up, please click here.

Do I have to be a PayPal customer to use Kapipal?

You do not need to be a PayPal customer in order to send money. However, the only way to receive money is through PayPal. Therefore, Kapipal creators must have PayPal accounts.

What type of PayPal Account (Personal, Premier, or Business) I need?

Kapipal works with any type of PayPal account. You may need to use a Premier or Business account to overcome some limitations of Personal Accounts. More Info

On the Kapipal Report page there is a "Status" value. What does it mean?

It's the PayPal status of the payment. Here are the most common values:

  • Completed: The payment has been completed, and the funds have been added successfully to your account balance.
  • Denied: You denied the payment. This happens only if the payment was previously pending.
  • Failed: The payment has failed. This happens only if the payment was made from your customer’s bank account.
  • Pending: The payment has been done succesfully, but the funds are not added to your account balance yet. Usually PayPal sends you an email with the instructions on how to unblock the money.
  • Refunded: You refunded the payment.

Kapipal is not responsible for handling the status of the payment, since the money transactions are processed by PayPal. Check out the PayPal documentation for more info.

PayPal status is displayed only for the donations received after October 1, 2011.