Smart Bits: Royal Bank of Canada in College Pilot Test

Royal Bank of Canada announced that it will issue smart cards to 3,700 students in Lennoxville, Quebec, this fall in an extension of the Mondex smart card trial in Sherbrooke.

The cards, an element of an "e-campus" project developed jointly by Bishop's University and Royal Bank, will bear photographs for identification and library and meal privileges, along with student credentials, in addition to electronic cash access.

Students and staff of Bishop's and the Lennoxville campus of Champlain College are expected to participate.

The project provides a way to "look to the future and explore new, convenient, and more cost-effective ways to deliver enhanced services to our students and staff," said Bishop's University principal Janyne Hodder.

"This joint e-campus project is a perfect fit with our Sherbrooke-area implementation," said Allan J. McGale, Royal Bank's vice president for smart cards and electronic commerce. "Students tend to be early adopters of new technology and quickly put things to a test. This will tell us volumes about the needs of card users on campus."

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