Frequently asked questions

Chek is an all-in-one platform for distributing and controlling funds. Organizations issue virtual cards with built-in spending controls, send Same-Day ACH with DirectPay, run public Program Applications, and track every transaction with dynamic, real-time reporting.

Chek is built for any organization that distributes financial assistance—nonprofits, foundations, relief agencies, universities, youth programs, and more. If your mission involves getting funds into people’s hands, Chek helps you do it faster and more accountably.

Chek gives you control over spending, helps prevent unauthorized purchases, moves funds in minutes instead of weeks, recovers unused money, and gives you transparent reporting on every dollar—so you can scale your impact with confidence.

After a quick demo and a KYB (Know Your Business) verification, most organizations are live on the platform and ready to disburse funds shortly after onboarding.

No. Recipients receive their virtual card, wallet, or DirectPay transfer through a simple, secure experience that works on any device—keeping the process easy and dignified.

Chek Cards are virtual cards you can restrict by merchant, category, location, and time—ideal when spending needs guardrails. DirectPay sends Same-Day ACH directly to a recipient’s bank account—ideal when they simply need funds with no restrictions. You can use both on the same platform.

Every recipient gets their own Chek Wallet. When you don’t need spending restrictions, you can send wallet transfers at any time—flexible support that stays fully tracked alongside cards and ACH.

Yes. Chek is one platform for all three. Pick the right method for each recipient or program, and every disbursement rolls up into the same tracking and reporting.

Program Applications are public intake pages you host for your programs. Applicants fill out the information you need and securely upload documents. You review clean, structured data to approve or deny, then instantly grant approved applicants a Chek Card or a DirectPay transfer.

Absolutely. All funding in Chek runs through programs, making it easy to sub-budget, keep funds separated by source and purpose, and report on each initiative independently.

You choose which merchant categories a card can be used at, set geographic boundaries by city or state, and define time windows. Transactions outside your rules are declined automatically—so funds are only spent as intended.

Yes. Allow the categories that matter—like groceries, fuel, or medical—and block everything else. You decide exactly where funds can and can’t be used.

Yes. Geographic boundaries let you keep funds usable in a specific city, state, or radius—ideal for local relief and place-based programs.

Any transaction that falls outside your rules is declined in real time, before it goes through. That means unauthorized spending is prevented—not just flagged after the fact.

Yes. Chek can automatically pull back unspent balances so you can reuse them for your mission—organizations recover an average of 18% of issued funds.

You send a secure invite, the recipient safely adds their own bank details, and you approve a Same-Day ACH transfer. Funds land in their account the same day, with a full record for reporting.

Recipients enter their information through a secure, encrypted flow. Your team never handles raw account numbers via email or spreadsheets, which reduces risk for everyone.

Yes. DirectPay is built to send Same-Day ACH to as many individual recipients and businesses as you need, all tracked in one place.

Yes. DirectPay supports transfers to both individual recipients and businesses—useful for paying vendors, providers, or partners on behalf of your program.

Collect whatever your program requires—contact details, eligibility information, household details, and any supporting documents—all through a clean, branded public form.

Yes. Applicants can securely upload proof of residence, identification, and any other supporting files through an encrypted upload—kept safely in one place.

Every response lands as clean, structured data—no messy inboxes. Review each applicant against your criteria and approve or deny with a complete, auditable record.

Yes. The moment you approve, Chek uses the data applicants already provided to issue a controlled Chek Card or send a DirectPay transfer—no re-entering information.

Dynamic dashboards let you follow funds from disbursement to expenditure, break spending down by program, category, location, and recipient, and measure impact—so you can verify, understand, and share where money goes.

Yes. Dashboards update the moment a transaction clears—no end-of-month reconciliation or waiting. You get live visibility across every program.

Yes. Download CSVs for your finance team, or generate clean, donor-ready summaries that show contributors precisely how their money was spent—transparency that builds trust and drives more giving.

Chek blends state-of-the-art encryption, role-based access controls, and proactive fraud protection with rigorous compliance management to keep your funds and data safe.

Chek uses passwordless login with passkeys, which is resistant to phishing and more secure than traditional passwords—keeping accounts protected without added friction.

Chek Financial, Inc. partners with Stripe Payments Company for money transmission and account services, with funds held at Fifth Third Bank N.A., Member FDIC. Chek Spend Card Visa® Commercial cards are powered by Stripe and issued by Celtic Bank. See our Banking Partner Disclosures for details.

KYB (Know Your Business) is a standard verification step that confirms your organization’s identity. It’s a quick part of onboarding and helps keep the platform secure and compliant.

Just get in touch. We’ll explore your disbursement process, how much you need to allocate, and how many people spend those funds—then tailor a plan to your program.