Cashier's
Office
Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday, except
Wednesday, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Taggart Students Center 246
Frequently
Asked Questions
What
will change?
Effective
April 12, 2004, the University will implement a new policy
regarding the acceptance of credit or debit card payments
for tuition and fees. These are the primary changes that
result from the new policy:
- Visa
branded debit, credit, and check cards no longer will
be accepted for payments made for tuition and fees.
- Students
and parents will be able to make payments directly from
any checking or savings account by using the web
payment option (Automated Clearing House Transfer) to
avoid the convenience charge, simply by entering
the bank/financial institution routing and account number
information at the time of online payment.
- The
Cashier's office no longer will accept credit or debit
card payments. Students will instead be directed to nearby
computer stations at which payments can be made via the
QUAD web site.
- Credit
or debit card payments will continue to be accepted through
the touchtone telephone system.
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Why
are changes being made?
While
credit card payments offer a convenient manner for students
and parents to pay tuition and fees, the cost to the university
for providing this convenience has grown to more than $350
thousand annually. Given the tightened budget situation,
the university has decided to require those who want the
convenience of paying with a credit card to cover a portion
of the university's cost of providing the service. This
change will benefit the university and all of its students
by reducing the burden to university's budget to fund these
charges.
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How
was the 2.00% rate determined?
The
rate is based on an estimate of those direct costs. At this
percentage rate, it is estimated that the university will
continue to pay for a portion of the cost of accepting credit
cards.
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Why
eliminate Visa branded debit and credit cards?
The
university was unable to negotiate an acceptable method
of assessing an appropriate convenience charge to tuition
and fee payments. Unlike the other brands of cards, Visa
will not allow the university to assess a convenience charge
that varies with the amount of the tuition and fee bill.
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Are
other colleges and universities making similar changes?
Many
colleges and universities throughout the countries have
already made similar changes to their practices of accepting
credit cards. Institutions like Utah State University have
attempted over the past year to negotiate changes in its
arrangements with its credit card providers to avoid having
to make these policy changes. However those negotiations
have had limited success.
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What
should I do if all I have is a Visa card?
In
addition to accepting MasterCard and Discover credit cards
over the internet, subject to a convenience fee, students
and parents will be able to make payments directly from
any checking or savings account by using the new web payment
option (Automated Clearing House Transfers) to avoid the
convenience charge, simply by entering the bank/financial
institution routing and account number information at the
time of online payment. The university will also continue
to accept check payments by mail and payments made by cash
and check at the Cashier's office teller windows. Payments
made by credit or debit card will not be accepted in the
Cashier's office. To obtain information about the Utah State
University Deferred Payment Options -- all with much lower
interest rates than typically found on credit cards -- students
and families can link to the Registrar's office at http://www.usu.edu/registrar/.
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Why
can't I use a credit card at the teller window if I am willing
to pay the fee?
The
complicated regulations are such that to charge a convenience
fee for credit card transactions at the Cashier's office
would also necessitate the same charge for payments made
by cash or check. The university has several computer stations
conveniently located near the Cashier's office for use by
students who wish to make tuition and fee payments with
a MasterCard or Discover, and are willing to pay the fee.
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Can
I use my Visa elsewhere on campus?
These
changes only apply to payments made for tuition and fees
over the internet. Other payments will not be affected by
this new policy.
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How
will the monies that are collected from this fee be used?
The
monies collected will be used to defray a portion of the
cost of providing convenient electronic payment options
for those who wish to pay via credit card. This change will
benefit the university and all of its students by reducing
charges to the budget by nearly $350 thousand each year.
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Why
can I still use Visa for other items?
Campus
departments have the legal flexibility to set their prices
to include recovery of all operating costs.
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I
am a parent and do not have access to a computer or don't
want to send my credit card or banking information over
the Web. How do I pay?
The
university will continue to accept cash and check payments
at the teller windows in the Cashiers office and payments
by check received in the mail.
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