Campus ID News
Card, mobile credential, payment and security
FEATURED
PARTNERS

North Alabama launches mobile credential with Transact

CampusIDNews Staff   ||   Jan 06, 2023  ||   ,

The University of North Alabama has implemented mobile credentials with the aid of card transaction system provider, Transact. UNA students, faculty, and staff can all add their Mane Card to either Apple Wallet or Google Pay and use their iPhones, Apple Watches, or Android smartphones to access campus buildings, purchase meals, and more.

The Transact mobile credential initiative at UNA is a universal use case, meaning that UNA students can now complete any transaction that would have previously required a physical Mane Card with their iPhone, Apple Watch, or Android phone. The new program is called Mobile ID, and went live on November 2.

In a report from The Flor-Ala, UNA Mane Card manager, Linda Brocato, says she had been preparing for the move to mobile credentials for years.

“When I became the manager of Mane Card, we changed out our readers to go to a chip card with the intention of going to mobile credentials,” says Brocato in a Flor-Ala interview. “Once we got the ball rolling, we didn’t realize that we had to have multi-factor authentication, so we had to back off since the university didn’t have it yet. Once we got Duo, which was within the last year, we got the ball rolling again. We’re excited that we finally have it now.”

UNA trialed the technology on campus first with resident assistants and select faculty members.

In terms of transactions, the new Mobile IDs work nearly identically to the previous Mane Cards. Students can now use their smartphones to gain access to campus facilities and residence halls on campus. On the payments side, students can tap their phones to complete any monetary transaction that the original Mane Card supported.

In future years, incoming students will have the option to either carry a physical Mane Card or be provisioned a mobile credential.

“The reason they don’t want them to have a card and a phone is because it bogs down the system even more,” explains Brocato. “Also, you can give your friend your card for meals or door access. You’re not going to give your phone to people as easily as you will a card. You can get mobile credential on your Apple Watch, too, but that’s it.”

While testing the system, RA feedback included an appreciation for the ease of use that a smartphone offers for door access and transactions. Some expressed concerns about the occasional inaccuracy of card readers and the possibility of phones running out of battery.

Apple devices carry a feature called Express Mode, which allows up to a five-hour window after the phone dies when students can still use their mobile credential.

“The main thing is convenience. Students and employees will have their phones with them. It keeps Mane Cards from getting lost and people from having to pay $15 for a replacement,” says Brocato. “You don’t lose a phone like you do a card. You keep up with your phone a lot easier.”

After students move to mobile credentials, they will no longer be able to use their physical Mane Card. The UNA system will search weekly for card duplicates – i.e. students who have both a physical and mobile Mane Card – and will cut the physical duplicate off, rendering the card unusable.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

RECENT POSTS

May 26, 23 / ,

Penn State adds mobile ordering to campus app

Penn State has added a mobile ordering feature to its comprehensive campus mobile app, Penn State Go. The Penn State Eats Mobile function is available for use by students on the flagship University Park campus, as well as across the university's Commonwealth Campuses.
May 26, 23 / ,

NAU leverages delivery robots to support late-night dining

Northern Arizona is leveraging Starship delivery robots and the mobile ordering app in a clever way to prop up late night dining, and putting a twist on the ghost kitchen concept. The university has launched its Hole in the Wall dining window that now serves either pickup or robot delivery for students by offering a number of dining concepts all from a single, concession-style window.
May 25, 23 / ,

HID's Technology Partner Program helps companies develop mobile solutions

Trusted identity solutions provider, HID Global, has announced its HID Origo Technology Partner Program, the company’s first program dedicated to partners with a focus on mobile technologies. The Origo Technology Partner Program is designed to help technology partners by providing the ideal platform for organizations to design, test, and market products that integrate with HID Origo via APIs and SDKs.
CIDN logo reversed
The only publication dedicated to the use of campus cards, mobile credentials, identity and security technology in the education market. CampusIDNews – formerly CR80News – has served more than 6,500 subscribers for more than two decades.
Twitter

Join us, @NACCUorg, and @TouchNet to explore how campus card programs can successfully navigate the sales and procurement process. Join the webinar on June 6, 2 pm EDT. https://go.touchnet.com/l/652093/2022-05-18/lsndq

Webinar: Learn how the University of Arizona uses campus cards, mobile ordering, kiosks, lockers, and robots to revolutionize campus dining. April 7, 2-2:30 EDT. Register Now at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7821245544009488910?source=campus-id

Load More...
Contact
CampusIDNews is published by AVISIAN Publishing
315 E. Georgia St.
Tallahassee, FL 32301
www.AVISIAN.com[email protected]
Use our contact form to submit tips, corrections, or questions to our team.
©2023 CampusIDNews. All rights reserved.