In a response to a mandate by the State Treasury, Portland State University has moved student accounts over to a new third party payment system called CASHNet.
Portland State, along with the rest of the Oregon University System and all state agencies, was mandated by the State Treasury to enhance transaction security and become PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant by June 30 2008.
Prior to June, PSU handled all payments in-house, using VeriSign for processing online payments.
According to staffers, the CASHNet system is more secure than the university’s previous methods.
CASHNet’s services include the ability to take electronic checks, as well as Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express payments online. Additionally, students can now create separate secure logins for their parents to access student accounts to make payments.
According to Director of Business Services Eric Blumenthal, other enhancements to the PSU payment system that are in the planning stages include an e-Market system and enhanced payment plans for students. Blumenthal says the payment plan system could be in place as early as next year.
The new system could end up significantly increasing costs for some students, however. Under the previous payment options, online credit or debit card payments cost a flat $2 fee for students.
According to Scott Petersen, a bursar in the office of Student Affairs, the fee was actually much higher, but PSU elected to cover the majority of the fee’s cost.
“The average fee for an account balance is around $26,” Petersen said. “Students were paying $2, and the university was subsidizing the rest.”
Under the CASHNet system, students paying online with a VISA card will see a flat fee of $25 per transaction, regardless of the amount. Those paying with a MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card will be charged a fee of 2.75% of the payment amount.
A student paying off a $1,200 term balance with a MasterCard, for example, will see a payment fee of $43.63.
Petersen and Blumenthal called the switch to putting the transaction fee in the hands of the students a “philosophical decision” for the university.
“This is really a national problem,” said Petersen, “of ‘do we continue to take credit cards or not?'”
However, the new online checking account payment option is free to use, and highly advocated by the university as the payment option of choice for those paying online.
Students also will continue to have the option of paying in person with check or cash for no charge.
CASHNet handles university payments for several institutions nationwide, including Oregon State University. According to OSU’s office of business affairs, all credit card and debit card payments are charged a flat $25 fee if they are processed online.
For more information on the new payment options, visit http://www.pdx.edu/bao/payments.html.