Card, mobile credential, payment and security
2018 was a banner year for Transact Mobile Credential, and that trend continues at a rapid pace in 2019. A prime indication is the next wave of institutions to sign on and issue mobile student IDs on campus.
As covered extensively by CR80News in 2018, the Transact Mobile Credential enables a secure NFC mobile transaction experience for students on campus in every aspect of student life, including access to facilities and residence halls, and payments for dining, laundry, vending, retail, and more all from a smartphone or smart watch.
Leading the next class of Transact clients to adopt Mobile Credential are:
Transact was the first campus credential solution provider to offer NFC-enabled contactless mobile IDs for iPhones, Apple Watches, and Android devices. The initial group of institutions to announce the service were Duke University, The University of Alabama, University of Oklahoma, Temple University, Johns Hopkins University, and Santa Clara University. This new batch of 11 universities will join the launch campuses in using Transact readers and an array of third-party, NFC-enabled devices to facilitate transactions and access privileges across campus using the Transact Mobile Credential.
The early success and widespread adoption of Transact Mobile Credential has exceeded even the most ambitious projections. And meeting the rising demand for mobile credentials is Transact’s longstanding vision for modern credential issuance.
“We have invested heavily in cloud services to create an innovative capability for our clients and an elegant and seamless experience for their users,” says David Marr, CEO of Transact. “As a result, we enable a credential issuance and Life Cycle Management capability that’s unique and native to our cloud. We’re also providing the right mix of leading third-party devices, along with our own purpose-built, integrated devices, which enables us to address every student use-case on campus.”
Since its mid-fall semester launch last October, Transact Mobile Credential has seen impressive adoption rates at the initial batch of campuses. Representative of high student interest, Duke University has reported 73% of undergraduate students and 87% of freshmen having provisioned their own Mobile Credentials since the program’s go-live date.
[blockquote align='left|right|full']“Students arriving to campuses today have grown up using the conveniences of mobile devices. Having our virtual identification card secure in Apple Wallet is a technology they expect, and we are excited to be a national leader and early adopter of Transact Mobile Credential.”
-- Bob Dorado, Marshall Mobile ID project lead at Marshall
“We are excited to see the make-up of this wave of schools. Combined with our first wave of adopters, the mix reflects practically every type of institution – small, large, private and public,” says Jeff Staples, VP of Market Development at Transact. “It’s clear that our clients, including our existing clients and new clients alike, are seeing secure NFC mobile credentials as a strategic imperative and are moving swiftly to adopt.”
During last year's rollout, ASSA ABLOY upgraded the existing IP-enabled locks on the launch campuses to enable the new features. More ASSA ABLOY client campuses are found in this next wave as well.
Purdue University will begin issuing new campus cards that will incorporate a new design, technology, and for the first time in school history, expiration dates.
According to an official university release, the rollout will start in the spring 2020 semester for all new students, with some of the new features being available in replacement cards as early as this August. The timeline for the new campus card aligns with plans dating back to 2014 that slated regular updates to the Purdue ID every five years. The last update was in 2015.
“We issue ID cards for daily campus uses from checking out library books to accessing doors to paying for on-campus meals,” says Tim Riley, Assistant Comptroller & University Bursar at Purdue. “Facilitating those uses will always be the primary factors in deciding how to update the cards, but it’s always a plus if the updates also can make life more convenient for students in other ways by adding new technologies or new features.”
The new cards will be circulated to the Purdue population over the next several years and will include a unique identifier that will enable the cards to be read by more electronic devices around campus. This update in card technology will add more convenience to students in the near term, and according to the university release, better position Purdue for an eventual adoption of mobile credentials.
Joining the new card technology updates is the addition of an expiration date to all student cards -- a first for the university. The Purdue ID will also continue to feature the cardholder's photo and legal name, bringing the Purdue ID more in line with Indiana voting laws as a valid form of identification at the polls. The expiration date will be set six years from the date the card is printed.
The Purdue ID recently found itself the topic of discussion amongst local legislators, as voter identification laws continue to cross paths with the campus card. The university released a statement pledging its full cooperation in finding a solution that suits state voter identification requirements.
“We are not in the voter identification business, but if we can help make voting more convenient for students, we want to do so, and the design parameters of the new card appear to check all the necessary boxes for a valid voter identification,” says Riley. “But it’s up to state, county and local poll workers to decide whether an identification is acceptable for voting purposes, and the surest way for students to guarantee ballot access is to acquire a passport, an Indiana driver’s license or a free Indiana ID card from a Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch.”
The first incoming class to be issued the new cards will arrive in the fall of 2020. An early version of the updated cards that include the new expiration date will be adopted in late August 2019 as the standard replacement student ID.
There is no cost for an individual's first Purdue ID card, but any subsequent replacement card will carry a $25 fee. While the new cards are being integrated into the campus population, Purdue will allow current cardholders to trade in their existing campus card for an updated version at the reduced cost of $10.
NACCU has extended an open call for both institutional and corporate members to submit proposals and present at the Association's 27th Annual Conference in Austin, Texas.
The call for proposals is seeking engaging session topics that highlight successful or innovative programs, new ideas, effective best practices or solutions that drive the campus identification and transaction system forward.
Any NACCU member is invited to submit a proposal to present a session at the Annual Conference in Austin April 19-22. Proposals can cover one of the many suggested topics, or can be an entirely new idea. The deadline to submit proposals is Monday, October 7th.
The first step to submitting a proposal is to choose a level, either Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced, along with a session type:
Visit NACCU.org today to submit your presentation proposal!
Tyler Hansen, VP of Sales and Business Development at Luxer One discusses the company's smart locker solutions for higher education. With a host of locker solutions tailored specifically to the college campus, Luxer One is deploying smart lockers for package pick up and return, for use in campus mailrooms, and fully featured self-contained smart locker rooms for unattended environments.
The company offers both indoor and outdoor lockers for automated pick-up via a smartphone QR Code, PIN or campus card. Luxer One also custom configures its smart locker deployment based on a campus' specific needs.
Luxer One configures its lockers to suit a university's brand, with a fully skinned software interface and color-matching lockers. Campuses, meanwhile, can benefit from comprehensive back-end reporting tools that monitor locker efficiency and package management, as well as a guaranteed 99.9% locker uptime.
The University of British Columbia and payment gateway provider SnapPay, Inc., have together launched a payment acceptance program for both Alipay and WeChat. The program will enable Chinese international students to use both popular Chinese payment apps at UBC's campus bookstore in Vancouver.
UBC enrolls more than 4,000 Chinese international students each year. Accepting the popular Chinese mobile apps will enable the campus bookstore to accept payments in Chinese currency (RMB), while making it more convenient for students to buy books, supplies and other items in a format and currency they’re familiar with.
Students can also save money by receiving preferred foreign exchange rates. By paying with digital payment apps, like Alipay and WeChat, students could bypass the $50,000 annual exemption limit that Chinese citizens are subject to.
Alipay is a third-party mobile and online payment platform first established in Hangzhou, China in 2004. The service is used via smartphones on the Alipay Wallet app and can support a full range of transactions including credit card payment, bank account management, P2P transfer, prepaid mobile phone top-up, transit ticket purchase, food orders, ride hailing, and more.
Similarly, WeChat is the chief competitor to Alipay and is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app that has amassed an estimated 1 billion monthly active users.
The entity making the initiative at UBC possible is SnapPay, a payment gateway that allows North American merchants to accept digital payments from Alipay and WeChat.
SnapPay enables a lower cost payment option for merchants compared to traditional credit card transactions, and offers a preferred customer experience for Chinese consumers by enabling the option to pay via familiar mobile apps using Chinese currency.
“UBC Bookstore understands the challenges oversea Chinese students are faced with when it comes to securing funds to pay for the costs associated with studying abroad,” says Chris Renton, Chief Growth Officer at SnapPay. “By helping the UBC Bookstore with acceptance of Chinese payment platforms, we help students cover their costs easier and give them better FX rates, while reducing merchant fees. It’s a win-win for all parties.”
As a special promotional offer, Alipay is hosting a kick-off campaign that rewards Chinese students with a UBC-branded water bottle when using their platform to purchase at least $40 of books or supplies at the UBC Bookstore Vancouver campus location.
King’s College London, located in the center of the capital, has revamped its campus security and access control measures. The college has moved away from disparate systems, opting for a more uniform campus-wide solution.
Comprising KCL's access control system are solutions from security solutions provider, Gallagher, along with integrations with other security components including Assa Abloy's Aperio technology for security at individual doors.
King’s College London had been using a variety of access control products to control and manage security across its multiple campuses. But a key requirement for the London campus was a standardized access control system that could operate college-wide.
KCL opted for an expansion of Gallagher technology that had already been successfully deployed in select locations at two of the university’s local campuses. For this reason, KCL chose Gallagher -- along with fellow long-standing provider, Assa Abloy -- to deliver an access control platform for the entire college.
Gallagher’s access control products are now integrated with King’s College’s staff and student databases, and sources for cardholder information. This integration also includes the college’s enterprise Identity Management system from Microsoft.
Gallagher's solutions have also been integrated to work alongside SITS, the college’s student management system, to provide rapid updates of new students so that individual ID cards can be issued once the registration process is complete.
The move to a campus-wide, standardized system has benefitted the college in many ways, including a considerable reduction in costs for training, special projects and operator skills.
The integration with Aperio ensures that campus doors are locked when individuals leave a room. This helps to provide peace of mind that rooms won’t be accidentally left open overnight or during the weekend.
Assa Abloy's Aperio technology is designed to complement existing electronic access control systems and provide campuses with a simple way to upgrade the control and security of facilities. A short-distance, wireless communication protocol, Aperio links an online electronic access system with an Aperio enabled mechanical lock.
Any number of existing doors can be equipped with Aperio, and at a lower cost than installing a standard electronic access system on every door. Aperio has also been developed around an open standard, making is possible to integrate with most locksets and systems, regardless of the manufacturer. Aperio technology fits into a system with wired doors, but is also designed for future security demands by using AES encryption via a wireless connection.
The access control technology overhaul has boosted King’s College’s confidence in its electronic system. In addition to more efficient campus wide alerts, card holders are also now registered in one system, allowing tighter management of campus passes.
The move to a standardized, enterprise-wide system has also reportedly led to fewer system failures, better decision-making between KCL's disparate campuses, and provided easier card management for multi-campus students, staff and visitors.
The University of Connecticut has begun its campus wide recarding with the issuance of its new contactless smart card credentials for students, faculty and staff. The new Husky One Cards are now available for all members of the UConn community and those with emeritus status.
According to an official university release, the recarding applies to UConn's flagship Storrs campus as well as its regional campuses, UConn Law, and individuals in UConn Health that were already carrying a UConn ID.
The new Husky One Card.
The new Husky One Card contains an encrypted smart chip to provide the university and its community with additional security, as well as enable users to tap their card at a reader to conduct transactions.
Helping UConn to accomplish its campus wide recard was identification technology solutions provider, ColorID. The company boasts a full range of recarding services from pre-printing and card production, through to quality control and distribution with custom card packaging and sorting.
UConn employees will use their new Husky One Cards to get tax exemption while purchasing food on campus, to access the Husky Bucks program, and gain entrance to locked doors that they are authorized to access. Those who purchase memberships at the UConn's Student Recreation Center in Storrs will use a Husky One Card for access as well.
For students, the new Husky One Card will be required to access the new Student Recreation Center, dining halls, and to use the Husky Bucks declining balance account at campus dining locations.
UConn's recarding efforts started earlier this week beginning with employee card pickups. Cards for UConn students were scheduled to arrive two weeks after employee and staff issuance, and the university has parceled out pickup times and dates at the One Card Office for that phase of issuance. All incoming students will receive the new Husky One Cards during their summer orientation.
The university is stressing that any current Husky One Cards in circulation should be retained until a new one has been picked up, at which point the old card will be deactivated. After initial issuance, the new smart card credentials will carry a $30 fee for any subsequent replacement.
To assist in the recarding efforts, the UConn One Card Office has posted an FAQ page to its website.
Laundry solution provider, Washlava, has agreed terms with LG Electronics that will see LG become the lead investor in a Series A-1 equity financing deal. LG Electronics' investment in Washlava is expected to help both companies create solutions that better reach the next generation of users.
Washlava's technology enables customers to reserve and pay for laundry machines from their smartphones, managing a cashless, end-to-end experience for both the operator and customer. LG Electronics, meanwhile, has a longstanding presence in laundry solutions, creating machines that range from basic washers and dryers to fully integrated smart solutions with a broad range of clothing care options.
Among the next generation of users that the companies are trying to appeal are college students. Comprehensive laundry and payment services on university campuses are commonplace, and students are increasingly demanding convenient, tech-driven solutions to these everyday tasks.
Washlava is already the exclusive laundry partner of card system vendor, CBORD, and provides students at CBORD campus partners the ability to use student ID cards as a form of payment in the Washlava mobile app. Washlava also enables students to reserve washers and dryers, receive notifications about the status of machines, and pay via smartphones.
"We could not be more excited about this important partnership with LG," says Todd Belveal, founder and chief executive officer of Washlava. "LG's capabilities and standing in the industry, combined with Washlava's proprietary IoT technology and user experience, create a platform that cultivates growth and innovation in a market that is primed for modernization."
Washlava's entire platform is also hosted on Amazon Web Services, with all credit card, debit card, and prepaid card transactions within the mobile app processed through Stripe, a PCI Service Level Provider Level 1 company. This ensures that that no credit card information ever touches the Washlava infrastructure.
The University of Oregon is implementing a number of measures designed to boost digital security for students, including the addition of two-factor authentication for a number of campus services.
According to an official university release, Oregon's Information Services, UO's central information technology unit, is undertaking the security projects using strategic funding approved by university administrators in May.
"We're aiming to take several big steps forward this year," says Leo Howell, Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Oregon. "We ask for the partnership and patience of the campus community as we move quickly on this important work."
For students, the most noticeable change will likely be the introduction of two-factor authentication. The added layer of login security will be used for many of the campus services that students already log into using their Duck ID credentials. Two-factor authentication will be live on Oregon's campus for all students, staff and faculty members this coming academic year.
Additionally, Oregon has laid out security improvements and overhaul to the university's email system. The most evident of the improvements will be a new URL link protection service that will add a layer of security to links contained in email messages. The move is designed to better protect the campus community from phishing attacks.
Students and university employees will also be given access to online cybersecurity awareness training to increase their knowledge and capabilities in defending against cyberattacks.
Cornell University has announced an agreement that will see the university help nearby Ithaca College transition to offering in-house dining operations to its students.
This past March, Ithaca College ended its contract with food service provider, Sodexo, citing the desire to simplify and improve meal plans, cut costs, and help address food insecurity on campus. Cornell, meanwhile, boasts solid rankings in Princeton Review’s top 10 for best campus food in the country, and has done so while operating its own dining in house.
Cornell University runs its own dining operations in house and was contacted by Ithaca College to help the fellow neighboring college move to a self-op format by the start of the upcoming fall semester.
Cornell Dining will lead the consulting and training partnership -- which was agreed in late June -- as part of a project that will provide Ithaca College's 4,000 students with campus meal plans in time for the start of the fall semester in August.
The agreement between the two schools will see Ithaca College have access to many of the same systems, vendors, and 3,500 tested recipes that Cornell uses for its operations and retail outlets. Ithaca College also will be consulting with Cornell Dining staff while they set up databases, operating procedures, training materials, and best practices.
Ithaca College said in its own release that it has arranged to license materials that will provide “a foundation for the college to open its dining operations with thousands of established recipes, along with standard operating procedures designed to achieve high food quality, consistency and safety.” Training on food-management protocols will also be provided before the beginning of the fall semester, and will extend into the academic year as needed.
As part of the agreement, Cornell is charging Ithaca College an undisclosed, “modest fee” to cover resources, consulting time, and staff training in the areas of food quality, consistency, and safety procedures.
Cornell Dining operates 29 on-campus dining locations, including all you can eat dining halls, cafés, coffee houses, food courts, and c-stores. Cornell also serves more than 23,000 meals a day to its campus community.
