IdentiSys Inc., an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based sales and service integrator of ID cards and access control security systems, has acquired Capital Card Systems Inc., a Rockville, Md. ID reseller. The purchase represents an expansion for IdentiSys into the Washington D.C. and Baltimore metro areas.

Capital Card Systems provides identification technology solutions including digital photo IDs, embossed card personalization, loyalty or membership cards, smart card/biometric applications and patient identification solutions to the corporate, government, health care, education, membership and loyalty, first responder and emergency management markets.

The company now has sales and service offices covering one-third of the U.S. Founded in 1999, IdentiSys offers identification, security and tracking solutions, including most applications using a plastic card, ID badge, metal tag, or biometric.

The company is a member of a number of national associations, including the National Association of Campus Card users.

The University of Pennsylvania student ID card will pass as a legitimate voter ID in the November elections, but students holding an ID card from other universities in Pennsylvania may be out of luck.

The state’s new voter ID law states that a valid ID must have an expiration date. IDs from Drexel, Pennsylvania State and Point Park universities and LaSalle College currently do not carry such a date.

According to the new law, other valid forms of identification include a driver license or the free photo ID issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Out-of-state driver licenses will not be valid at Pennsylvania polls.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which is challenging the law, said there could be many more colleges in Pennsylvania facing this problem.

Joel Weidner, director of information systems for Penn State, said the school purposely removed the expiration dates from their student IDs in 2004. Expiration dates do not take into account students withdrawing from Penn State or the amount of time students are enrolled. An expiration date on a card is “not a trustworthy thing,” he said.

Read more here.

BillMyParents, creator of a trackable, reloadable MasterCard prepaid card that lets parents and teens track spending in real time, has been named the Paybefore Awards best in category for Youth/Student/Campus Prepaid Programs.

In its 6th year, the annual Paybefore Awards recognizes excellence throughout the prepaid and stored value industry. BillMyParents was one of three prepaid program finalists vying for the best in category distinction.

“BillMyParents is taking prepaid to teens where they are and in a language that resonates with them,” said Loraine DeBonis, editor-in-chief of Paybefore and chair of the judging panel. “The company also reaches out to parents in meaningful ways and is getting results. BillMyParents is gaining significant ground with its SpendSmart MasterCard because of its remarkable outreach as well as card features.”

Features of the BillMyParents SpendSmart MasterCard include the ability to instantly lock, unlock and reload the card at any time; text alerts to parents and teens showing real-time transaction details with each purchase; and the security of a MasterCard prepaid card without the risk of overdrafts, accruing debt or affecting credit scores. BillMyParents also provides parents with a way to help teach their teens financial responsibility.

Secure identity provider HID Global has expanded its card printer and encoder line with the launch of the Fargo DTC1000M Monochrome Printer/Encoder that provides organizations with a printer that’s cost-effective to own and operate.

Dan DeFore, HID’s director of product marketing, said that this entry-level printer can meet a customer’s card issuance needs with a range of cost-effective card printer/encoder options, including card issuance supplies and issuance software solutions.

The DTC1000M prints a single-color, edge-to-edge image on one side of a standard CR-80 or CR-79 identification card. The resin thermal transfer process makes for a clear reproduction of photo images, bar codes and alphanumeric data. Ribbon options include standard or premium black, or a choice of green, blue, red, white, silver or gold.

The DTC1000M connects via USB or optional Ethernet port and the embedded Swift ID application enables users to start printing cards immediately with no software licensing cost. For magnetic stripe cards, an optional module enables inline, one-step encoding and card printing.

The printer is good for organizations such as casinos, financial services firms, governments, retailers and small or medium-sized businesses who issue badges requiring only monochrome printing. Additionally, an erase-and-rewrite printing option makes it easy to print visitor badges and temporary worker IDs.

The Student Congress at Doane College, Crete, Neb., is pursuing a declining balance meal plan that would enable students to carry money on their ID cards. Students could then purchase individual items rather than be locked into using one of their meal credits for an entire meal.

The idea behind this proposal is that Doane students would now have more control over the cost of food on campus.

The proposed change would give students more options, said Kim Jacobs, Student Congress advisor. She said a new plan would help students feel that they are getting a better value.

Currently students are getting a good deal at the cafeteria with the all-you-can-eat option, but downstairs they are losing money, said Laura Jacob, Student Congress president. With a declining balance plan you only pay for what you want, she added.

Read more here.

Want a discount on piercings? Or how about saving a buck at a local movie theater? Also available is a 50% discount at a local thrift store or discounted bowling. All you need to take advantage of these money-savers is your LSU ID card.

The thrift store offers a discount on Wednesdays, where, says one student, “You can find a nice polo for $5…but if you go on Wednesday, the polo will only be $2.50.”

Two local movie theaters each give students a $1 discount for any student with a college ID. On Wednesdays after 9 p.m. students can bowl for just 99 cents.

As to the piercings, a tattoo parlor takes $5 off piercings ranging from $25 to $50 for students every day of the week, excluding Wednesdays, when all piercings are $10. Even the $5 discount has brought in more business.

Said the tattoo parlor’s manager, “We’ve seen around a 30% to 40% increase in piercings sales since we started offering the discounts.”

Read more here.

Three University of Memphis students, using a stolen student ID card, bought snacks totaling $76.25 before they were arrested. They’ve been charged with fraudulent use of a debit card.

University police said the campus ID had been used 60 times at vending machines around campus before the three were finally caught.

The victim, Matthew O’Malley, told university police that his student ID card was stolen from a locker at the school’s recreation center.

“Students need to maintain control of their cards if possible,” said Bruce Harber, the school’s director of public safety. “If a card is missing, the student should go online and report it lost or stolen to shut off access to the card. The University Police need to be contacted so we can report and investigate the incident,” he added.

Read more here.

Higher One expanded its checking account options for college students. Previously checking accounts were only offered to current customers but new customers can now have immediate access to three checking account choices tailored to suit the banking behavior of college students.

The new checking account options include no PIN fees, a specified number of foreign ATM fee reimbursements and access to online budgeting tools that can help students track their spending and set budgeting goals.

“The additional checking account options that we are announcing were very popular with current customers and we are making them available to new customers in a direct response to the needs that have been expressed to us,” said Miles Lasater, Higher One COO.

He said the checking accounts are FDIC-insured with no minimum balance requirement. The checking accounts are linked to a debit MasterCard, not a prepaid debit or credit card, Lasater added.

The company’s OneAccount is part of Higher One’s refund management disbursement service that handles financial aid to students at more than 500 U.S. college and university campuses.

Blackboard Transact’s Campus Commerce and Security Forum, scheduled for March 7, has been cancelled, said a Blackboard spokesperson.

The session was to be from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Blackboard Offices in Washington, D.C. The forum has not been rescheduled.  

Brown University, Providence, R.I. is considering a plan to enable students to use Bear Buck accounts off campus. Bear Bucks, which replaced the school’s declining balance system this semester, is similar to a debit card but is currently only good campus-wide.

The new proposal would allow Bear Bucks to be used at off-campus restaurants and other local businesses.

The project is still in the research phase. Members of the Undergraduate Council of Students, which is pushing the proposal, contacted seven schools on the East Coast, including Harvard, Cornell and Georgetown, to learn more about off-campus dining options and to see if this would work at Brown.

“We don’t want to waste the administration’s time,” said Alexander Sherry, a member of the Undergraduate Council. “The idea for this project was convenience–not having to carry around your wallet and your credit cards–just your ID card is enough to make you self-sufficient around this campus,” he added.

Read more here.