The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is putting its current HigherOne ID card out to pasture in favor of a new EagleID that will better align the campus with PCI compliance considerations.The new IDs will assume the same functionalities of the current HigherOne credentials with the noted exception of the debit card utility for those students that have a HigherOne checking account.

An increasingly common question for campuses is the future of the campus card declining balance account as a method of student payment. Declining balance accounts have been a primary facet of campus card systems for nearly the last three decades, but with an increasing number of students arriving on campus with a bank debit card already in hand, does the campus card declining balance account still have a seat at the table? Heartland’s Fred Emery discusses the payment options available to the modern student on campus, and plots a future for campus card declining balance accounts.

EMV is focused on reducing fraud at the point of sale through fraud protection enhancements based on chip card technology. It’s a move that adds dynamic data to the transaction stream and authenticates that the card is present at the point of purchase. In this installment of the CR80News Expert Panel Series, Heartland’s Fred Emery discusses EMV, some of the adjustments that are to be expected in buyer and merchant habits, and why the new payment standard should be embraced by those within higher ed.

India-based mobile payment and commerce platform, Paytm, is taking its cashless solution to campus via agreements with some 100 schools and colleges across the country. Students are using the Paytm mobile wallet to make a wide variety of purchases on campus, as well as pay utility and academic bills.

Worldwide payment technology services provider, Global Payments, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Heartland Payment Systems. No changes to the Heartland OneCard offering are expected as a result of the acquisition, but the transaction is expected to significantly expand Global Payments’ direct small and medium-sized enterprise distribution, merchant base and vertical reach in the U.S.

Higher One has announced an agreement to sell all assets and certain liabilities of its Disbursements business — including the OneAccount — to one of its bank partners, Customers Bank and parent company, Customers Bancorp, Inc. The gross purchase price is a reported $37 million cash to be paid in three installments beginning with an initial $17 million paid at closing followed by two $10 million installments in 2017 and 2018.

A primary obstacle for accepting the campus card for payment transactions has been an expensive buy in for point-of-sale payment technology. Now, however, some universities are recognizing the need to accept payments at places other than a traditional point of sale, and campus card providers are stepping up to provide inexpensive, portable systems that can be used all over campus.