Gift certificates

[Guest]

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[hoppo]

On 29th April I donated $25 and  filled  in  the details  of  the  person   to whom I wish to send it as a  gift ( including  the  personal message). I  would  now  like to print out  the  certificate  to  send it to her  with a  birthday card....but  under " my  portfolio"/"certificates", it  says that I have  no  certificates. Am I doing something wrong?

[Peter S]

Hi Hoppo

No, you're not doing anything wrong.  There have been some problems recently affecting Kiva's interaction with PayPal, and it's quite likely that's where the explanation lies.

You need to check a few things:

Did the $25 PayPal transaction go through?
the best way to check this is to have a look at your PayPal account.  You should also have got an email from PayPal confirming the transaction.  If if didn't go through, you need to start the whole process from new.

If PayPal took $25 from you...check that your Kiva account has received it
In My Portfolio, Overview (the page you land on after signing in) can you see the $25 as "Available Kiva Credit"?
In case you already had Kiva Credit, for a more detailed look you should go to My Portfolio / My Transactions and if necessary navigate to the page within My Transactions that covers 29th April.

If PayPal took your $25 and your Kiva account hasn't received it:
send an email to contactus@kiva.org telling them what's happened, making sure to give them the PayPal transaction reference.

If PayPal took your $25 and it's in your account as Kiva Credit:
- you'll have at least $25 as available Kiva Credit, so use the "Gift It" link and complete the Gift Certificate purchase, paying with the $25 credit you already have.  You don't have to specify your friend's email address or enter a personalised message, as you're planning to print the certificate and send it with a card.  If you happen to have exactly $25 Kiva Credit, try to resist the invitation to add an optional donation to Kiva, as that will send you back to PayPal to pay for the amount of the donation.

Hope that helps you sort it out.

Peter

[hoppo]

Peter,

many thanks...the money is in my kiva  a/c  and  i'd  wondered if I  should  do  the  certificate  process over  again...but  wasn't  certain if  that might  confuse  the  situation  even more  !! It's  also  unfortunate  that Kiva  used  the $6  dollars  already  in my  a/c  towards  the  $25  gift...I  would  happily  have  left  it  there  to  re-loan at a  later  date...but  I  guess  that whatever  system they use,  someone  will find  that it  doesn't  suit  them  I still think it's  one  of  the  best charity  ideas  I've  ever  come across.

[cjp1973]

Peter,

many thanks...the money is in my kiva  a/c  and  i'd  wondered if I  should  do  the  certificate  process over  again...but  wasn't  certain if  that might  confuse  the  situation  even more  !! It's  also  unfortunate  that Kiva  used  the $6  dollars  already  in my  a/c  towards  the  $25  gift...I  would  happily  have  left  it  there  to  re-loan at a  later  date...but  I  guess  that whatever  system they use,  someone  will find  that it  doesn't  suit  them  I still think it's  one  of  the  best charity  ideas  I've  ever  come across.

Hoppo, I am glad that with  Peters note you were able to find out what happened.  You should have no trouble with your transaction going right through now that you have credit.  It has only been delayed when pay pal has been involved.    I hope that your friend appreciates the gift certificate, and I would like to agree, kiva is a great charity idea.  Welcome to kivafriends.

[Jan & John]

Peter,

many thanks...the money is in my kiva  a/c  and  i'd  wondered if I  should  do  the  certificate  process over  again...but  wasn't  certain if  that might  confuse  the  situation  even more  !! It's  also  unfortunate  that Kiva  used  the $6  dollars  already  in my  a/c  towards  the  $25  gift...I  would  happily  have  left  it  there  to  re-loan at a  later  date...but  I  guess  that whatever  system they use,  someone  will find  that it  doesn't  suit  them  I still think it's  one  of  the  best charity  ideas  I've  ever  come across.

Welcome hoppo 
Isn't Peter just the best? of course I love all English people because I was born there myself

I have found that - for me not to get confused between real money and Kiva credit - the best plan is to plan ahead. 

If I know I am going to give a gift or think I will be going to look for a loan, the best way for me is to go to My Portfolio and add credit.  That way your $6 will become $31 and then when you buy the gift, you will still have $6 left over.  Kiva/Paypal really doesn't have a good way around this little issue as yet.

jan