Dive Brief:
- Campuses across the country are recognizing the the need to integrate mobile payment options for a variety of goods and services, including campus vending, parking, and tuition.
- University Business reports SUNY Buffalo installed mobile payment technology on its campus vending machines as a way to increase sales by giving users an additional payment method.
- Cleveland State University, St. Cloud State University, and San Diego Community College visitors can all pay for parking with their phones, thanks to new initiatives that took very little money or time to launch.
Dive Insight:
In the case of campus parking, institutions have handed over the payment systems to outside vendors, who charge small convenience fees of about a quarter and handle the advertising and operations. Giving students and parents the opportunity to make tuition payments through their phones was considered a way to reduce demand in the bursar’s office at Weber State University.
In all of these cases, the mobile technology makes something easier for students and also provides benefits to the institution.