The good, the bad and the HigherOne card

The PSU OneCard is many things. In addition to being the official student ID, you can use it as a library card, as a bus pass and to access meal plans, computer labs and athletic and student life events.

It can also serve as a debit card, if you choose to have your financial aid deposited into the OneAccount—a fully functional virtual bank that has a partnership with PSU to provide options for students regarding how they receive their aid money.

Like a lot of multi-faceted things, it has its dark side, and misinformation has circulated about the card. But the office of ID services is aware of these issues and seems invested in correcting the problems and making improvements. The important thing to understand is that the OneCard is merely one option. And options are a good thing. PSU students do not have to open a OneAccount.

In fact, at the ID services window in the lobby of Neuberger Hall, the information sheet that is provided highlights how to opt out of the card and have your financial aid deposited into an existing bank account. It’s not as fast to do it this way (it takes around three extra days of processing), but it is perhaps the simplest option. The few extra days spent waiting for the deposit was worth it to me to have all my money in the same place, to be able to access it with my regular debit card, from a bank that I was familiar with.

You can also receive your aid money in the form of a paper check. This option takes a little longer than a direct deposit, taking five to seven business days or sometimes longer, depending on the bank and how stringent they are about making funds available. A paper check also makes it possible to bypass banks altogether and sock it away however you wish.

One of the main criticisms of the OneCard concerns hidden fees. At one time, the student would be charged a small fee for using it as a debit card, rather than as a credit card. That fee no longer exists, according to Steve Pasco, supervisor of ID services, and you can run the card as debit or credit free of charge. The OneAccount, Pasco said, functions exactly like a bank account—with online checking, bill paying, check writing, electronic bill statements, the ability to wire money, transfer money between OneAccounts and OneCard ATMs with free withdrawals.

These OneCard ATMs come with a catch—they are only on campus. There are four, with our student government in charge of “finding a home” for the fifth one, according to Pasco. According to the PSU ID Card Services website, OneCard ATMs are located in the Neuberger Hall lobby, Smith Student Union (first floor) and Millar Library (first floor). The 24-hour ATM is located on the second floor of the Broadway Housing Building next to the vending area. There is a $2.50 fee for using the OneCard at an outside ATM.

Pasco described the OneCard as a financial aid tool with a purpose. It is built on the desire “to get the right monies to the right person,” he added.  ID Services is even undergoing rebranding and new marketing imagery for the OneCard in hopes of highlighting what the card actually embodies: options and possibilities. ?