By Andy Williams, Contributing Editor

Joining a growing trend, the University of Central Florida in Orlando is allowing at least one off-campus restaurant to accept the college's campus card for payment. The venture is also serving as a test site for UCF's smart card supplier, Irish company SmartCentric, to trial its new off-campus card solution.

The McDonald's restaurant selected as the debut site is located across the street from the UCF campus. But more off-campus businesses will soon be able to take advantage of this UCF venture.