New students at North Carolina State University will receive campus identification cards this year that for the first time will double as prepaid MasterCards.
U.S. Bancorp will supply the multifunction cards, marking the first time the bank has combined the features of a campus debit card with a network-branded prepaid card, the bank said in an April 18 press release.
Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank supports more than 50 college I.D. cards tied to debit card accounts, but this is its first open-loop campus card, a U.S. Bank spokesperson says. "The prepaid area is one that we are growing," she adds.
The new Wolfpack One card will enable cardholders to pay for diverse types of campus services and make purchases anywhere MasterCard is accepted and to make withdrawals at its ATMs, U.S. Bank said in the release.
As part of the changes, U.S. Bank this year is supplanting Wells, Fargo & Co. as the vendor supporting the Raleigh, N.C.-based university's campus debit card, previously called the AllCampus Card, a university spokesperson tells PaymentsSource.
The AllCampus Card was tied to a Wells Fargo student checking account and provided access to Wells Fargo ATMs, the campus spokesperson says.
Under the new contract, U.S. Bank will deploy an undisclosed number of ATMs on the campus, according to the release.
The new debit card shares many features of the existing card, including enabling cardholders to pay for campus meals and services and providing access to many campus facilities, parking lots and activities, according to a separate April 18 university announcement.
Beginning in June, incoming students and staff members will receive the new Wolfpack One MasterCard; other students and personnel may obtain one for $10 beginning in October, according to the U.S. Bank press release.
The AllCampus Card will continue to work at all campus payment terminals, facilities and ATMs, but when cards are lost or expire, the university will replace them with U.S. Bank-issued Wolfpack One cards, the university spokesperson says.
Cardholders, parents and employers may reload funds to a Wolfpack One card account from another bank account or through direct deposit, according to the U.S. Bank release. There are no enrollment or monthly fees, and no minimum balance is required.
U.S. bank will notify cardholders of account activity via e-mails and text alerts; cardholders also may check their account status via a secure website.
N.C. State supplies its campus card to 34,000 students and 8,000 staff members, U.S. Bank said in its release.
The renamed card with MasterCard prepaid capabilities represents "a significant upgrade" to the existing card program, Dan Adams, N.C. State's associate vice chancellor for campus enterprises, said in the release.
A growing number of banks and payment networks are gearing up to provide open-loop debit cards for college campuses.
SunTrust Banks Inc. last year announced an open-loop campus card with MasterCard Worldwide (
American Express Co. also last year inked a deal with campus card operator CardSmith LLC to expand use of its branded prepaid debit cards on college campuses (
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