NuVision Networks Corp. has upgraded its campus card program suite to enable students and faculty to order from participating local shops online using their card’s closed-loop prepaid account, the company announced Jan. 25.
The Shopper E-Commerce program accommodates vendors located both on and off campus, Brian Adoff, national sales manager for NuVision, tells PaymentsSource.
Anyone may set up a store via Shopper through the university’s card office, Adoff says. Some schools also may use the service to collect funds for charities and fundraisers, he adds.
The updated Campus Center, which will launch Feb.1, is free for cardholders to use, Adoff notes. When making a purchase from a participating vendor online, cardholders view the company’s Web page, select the desired item and then choose to pay using their campus card account or a credit card.
Once the cardholder initiates the transaction, NuVision sends the vendor an e-mail or fax with the order details along with the price look-up code or barcode. The e-mail or fax also may include the cardholder’s image from his or her campus card.
Among the benefits, cardholders do not need to wait in line at checkout to pay and instead can pick up their order or supplies from the vendor directly, Adoff says.
Napa, Calif.-based NuVision, which earns its revenue from providing campus card programs to U.S.-based colleges and universities, also plans to launch a mobile version of its One Card program later this year, Adoff says.
Enabling students to use a campus card account to make purchases online is not a breakthrough, but it helps NuVision’s closed-loop prepaid card program compete with open-loop prepaid card programs, Bill McCracken, chief executive of Synergistics Research Corp., tells PaymentsSource.
Adding an online shopping element also is necessary because of the target audience, McCracken notes. “The student segment is always online, so if a product lacks the ability to connect with students through the Internet, then the product has a huge hole,” he says.
The college or university also may benefit by not needing as much staffing at on-campus vendors, and it may lower its transaction costs, he says.
What do you think about this? Send us your feedback.
