FAB (Frequently asked Beam)
How is Beam Free to customers?
Our founders made Beam because they realize a lot of us want to make a difference every day, and we have to buy stuff all the time. With that, most of us (91%!) would prefer to spend our money with brands that are *actually* mission-driven (directly donate to nonprofits, consistent business practices with the values they show on social media, etc.) but it’s tough when you’re not really sure which brands are walking-the-walk, rather than just talking-the-social-impact-talk. And for the brands actually donating to causes, they’re having a hard time reaching people who care about those same causes. That’s where Beam comes in. Brands pay to partner with Beam, using our technology to let their customers (you!) choose nonprofits and track the impact of their donations. Beam doesn’t take a cut of the donation and is solely committed to driving our mission of $10B to high-impact nonprofits.
What does bank level Encryption mean?
Plaid uses the same security mechanisms as banks it partners with to protect your information.
Are you watching all of my purchases?
No, we don’t know how you, specifically, are spending at all because all of the data we receive is completely anonymized. It helps us learn about our users at an aggregate level, like if Beamers like fancy restaurants more than fast casual chains.
Why do brands do this?
The brands we partner with believe in these causes and think that giving back to things their customers care about, too, is the best way to build long-term relationships.
We’ve seen our users visit our partner brands more and more each week, proving that all brands should give back--not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it makes sense for business.
How do you get paid? Do you take a cut of the donation?
No, we’re a mission-driven company and never take any part of the donation. Our partner brands pay us for the volume of new customers we drive to visit for the first time, and the increases in loyalty they see from existing customers.
How does it work to link my card?
An integration called Plaid handles this for us! Plaid uses bank-level encryption, is trusted by 9,600 banks, and powers a lot of your favorite apps, like Venmo, Mint, and Acorns. Plaid notifies our system when you’ve made a purchase at a partner brand. This automatically triggers our system to send you a push notification that opens to a list of causes supported by that partner brand.
Linking your card helps us easily verify that you’ve made a purchase, without requiring you to change how you shop at all to start making a difference. You don’t have to pay through the app or even remember to use Beam--just swipe your card as usual, and Plaid works in the background to make the magic happen automatically.
What kind of data do you store about me? Will you take money out of my account?
Beam will always be free, and we can’t ever take money from your account. Plaid simply pings our system when you make a purchase at a partnered brand. We don’t store your bank login anywhere on our end. Plaid handles that entirely with your bank. The only data we get from Plaid is completely anonymous and protected with bank-level encryption. What’s important to us is the total number of people visiting our partner brands, so we don’t capture any personal information about you.
I don’t have a credit card or I don’t want to link it. Is there any other way to use beam?
Yes! A growing number of our partners have QR codes at the cash register that you can scan while checking out to unlock a donation. However, our testing has shown that people make 2-3x as much impact when they link their card, since they never have to worry about forgetting to scan a QR code.
Do you sell my data to make money?
No, your personal information and data is never shared with anyone and not even visible to people within our company, since it's anonymized. The only data we do share is at an aggregated level, like “X% of Dos Toros customers support women’s empowerment."
