Alwqf — Islamic Endowment & Charity Donation Platform

• UK & EU SCA Requirements: The strict Strong Customer Authentication requirements in the British and European market mandated a fully correct implementation of Stripe 3D Secure to prevent transaction rejections — requiring deep understanding of the Payment Intents API and the three-dimensional authentication flow.
• Payment Gateway Security & Donor Data Protection: Handling payment and donation data demands rigorous protection standards — including mandatory HTTPS, CSRF protection, Stripe Webhook Signature verification, and zero card data storage on the server.
• Tracking Donations & Pending Payment States: Some 3D Secure transactions enter a "pending" state requiring a Webhook to confirm success or failure — necessitating a precise status management system and a robust Webhook handler capable of managing all possible payment scenarios.
• Donation UX & Conversion Flow: Designing a smooth, frictionless donation journey that retains the donor through completion — especially with the additional 3D Secure step — was a genuine UX challenge requiring careful design for every stage of the payment flow.
• Continuous Development on a Live Production System: Updating and improving a platform that actively receives real donations demands extreme precision on every change, a separate staging environment, and thorough testing before each deployment.

• Stripe Payment Intents + 3D Secure: Implemented the payment gateway using Stripe Payment Intents API with automatic_payment_methods enabled and Stripe.js integrated on the frontend to generate a secure Payment Element that handles 3D Secure automatically and in full compliance with SCA requirements.
• Robust Webhook Handler: Built a protected Webhook endpoint secured with Stripe Signature Verification, handling payment_intent.succeeded, payment_intent.payment_failed, and charge.refunded events reliably — updating donation status in the database immediately upon each event receipt.
• Donation Status Management System: Designed a donation data model tracking every stage: pending → processing → completed → failed → refunded — with a complete timestamped audit log for every state transition.
• Optimized Donation UX Flow: Designed a two-step donation page (amount selection ← payment details) with a clear progress indicator, seamless 3D Secure transition, and automatic redirect to a personalized thank-you page upon successful donation.
• Separate Staging Environment: Set up a complete test environment with Stripe Test Mode mirroring production settings — used to test every change thoroughly before deploying to the live server.
• General Security Hardening: Applied HTTPS via Let's Encrypt, CSRF protection on all forms, API Rate Limiting, sensitive data encryption, and blocked any unauthorized access attempts at the server level.

• Live, successful platform operating continuously since 2021 with zero major downtime.
• Stripe 3D Secure payment gateway functioning with high efficiency and excellent transaction success rates.
• Smooth, secure donation experience proven effective with donors across the UK and Europe.
• Comprehensive admin dashboard enabling the client to independently manage Waqf projects and donation records.
• Extensive maintenance and continuous feature development over more than 4 years.
• Regular security updates and Stripe integration upgrades in alignment with the latest payment gateway standards.
• Fast, fully responsive website optimized for all devices and search engines.

Project Overview

In 2021, while working at NITBee Software Development, a UK-based client approached us with an ambitious vision: build a complete digital platform for managing Islamic Waqf projects and enabling donors to support them electronically. The vision was clear — a multi-page website combining visual elegance and high technical security with a seamless, trustworthy donation experience. I was assigned as the sole developer on this project, taking full ownership of both the Frontend and Backend — from architecture to production deployment.

Platform Pages & Sections

• Homepage: Hero section presenting the platform's mission, Waqf achievement statistics, and featured ongoing projects.
• Projects Page: Categorized listing of available endowments with progress bars and aggregated donation data for each project.
• Project Detail Page: Full description of each Waqf with images and fundraising goals.
• Donation Page: Professional donation form integrated with Stripe 3D Secure — supporting GBP payments and international credit cards.
• About Page: Platform introduction, vision, and operational methodology.
• Contact Page: Contact form with instant email notifications.
• Admin Dashboard: Full management of projects, donations, donors, and payment records.

Stripe 3D Secure Integration

The Stripe payment gateway was implemented to professional standards including:

• Stripe Payment Intents API with 3D Secure enabled for enhanced transaction security.
• SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) compliance as required by EU and UK regulations.
• Webhook Handler for secure and reliable payment status verification.
• Detailed payment logs for every transaction within the admin dashboard.
• Automatic email confirmation sent to the donor upon each successful donation.

Security Hardening & Ongoing Maintenance

The project has remained under my supervision and care since its 2021 launch. Over the years, I have continuously hardened security layers, updated the Stripe integration, and ensured the platform remains compliant with the latest security standards and PCI DSS requirements for payment gateways.