Students to use mobile phone for secure campus payments

(24/07/2007)

Heartland Payment Systems has been selected by Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania to deliver the convenience and security of contactless payments by cell phone to students and faculty.

This first-of-its-kind college campus solution in the United States – developed by Heartland's new micro-payments division – capitalizes on two well-established trends: the ubiquity of the mobile phone among college students; and the popularity of new contactless, or tap-and-go, payments among American consumers.

Beginning in July, Slippery Rock University's 8,500 students, faculty and staff will receive a new official campus ID card and a separate contactless token designed for use with their mobile phones.

Using either the card or the phone, they will be able to make payments at on-campus locations as well as participating merchants in the surrounding community. During the summer, campus vending machines, laundry facilities, photocopiers and printers will be outfitted with dual technology readers to enable contactless payments via mobile phone in addition to the traditional ID card payments.

The new mobile phone tokens incorporate the same standards-based contactless technology (ISO 14443) used worldwide by MasterCard, Visa and leading card issuers in the payment and identity sectors.

The technology enables data to be read without physical insertion into – or contact with – a card reader. Thus, it is more convenient and secure than prior payment options. By design, the phone must be held in close proximity – no more than 2 inches – to an approved contactless reader for communication to occur.

The new Rock Dollars card and ID token provide access to a fully functional debit account that is FDIC insured. Student financial aid will be distributed to the new accounts, and funds can be added or withdrawn from select ATMs. A Web site and voice response system enable 24/7/365 account access for balance inquiries, funds transfer, and other tasks.

"Students are great innovators, yet for the past two decades, payments on campus have remained fundamentally unchanged," says Robert O. Carr, chairman and chief executive officer of Heartland Payment Systems. "We are excited to partner with Slippery Rock to help launch the next generation of campus card programs. This new product launch allows us to showcase our next generation of micro-payments technology at a well-known school led by an innovative administration. This is just the first step for us in ushering in a new era of payment processing that will soon include additional phases of low-cost convenience for universities, students and merchants alike."

"Since it's inception in 1889, Slippery Rock University has been on the leading edge of educational innovations," Robert Smith, president of the university, said. "We are excited to partner with Heartland Payment Systems to implement this new technology and know that it will deliver a level of speed and convenience our students demand."

"We anticipate that our work with Slippery Rock University this summer will generate major interest from other campus administrators and local merchants as they see the benefits and opportunities for improved student service and administrative and payment cost savings," adds Carr.

Heartland received the award through a competitive bid process initiated in March by Slippery Rock. Nationwide, Heartland processes $55 billion in transaction volume annually for more than 150,000 merchants. The company has served as Slippery Rock University's payment processor for nearly ten years.

Related topics:  Mobile and Wireless Security   Smart card 

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