Campus credential and payment solutions provider, Transact, has released a new mobile feature that provides students with emergency hotline and suicide prevention information from within their mobile credential. The latest addition to the Transact mobile credential platform is designed to offer college students another avenue for reporting mental and emotional trauma.

“Over the last few years, there has been a steady increase in utilization and demand for campus counseling services, and this year, 73% of college presidents identified mental health as a pressing issue,” says Nancy Langer, CEO of Transact. “We recognize that this is the future for all colleges and universities, and we will continue to provide revolutionary technology to support campus goals and improve student experiences."

Transact will make the new mobile credential feature available in time for the start of the fall semester.

“We know from working closely with university leaders around the country that student health and wellbeing are of the utmost concern as campuses prepare for the start of the 2021-2022 academic year,” says Langer. “We designed this technology to be part of the support system for students and school leaders. Our easy-to-implement tool allows students to access emergency contact information directly from the student ID credential on their smartphone.”

The emergency hotline and suicide prevention contact capability is available immediately to all existing Transact Campus mobile credential customers through a simple system update. Transact’s mobile platform allows university administrators to push updates to student IDs without the expensive process of reprinting and redistributing physical cards.

Users will also have the ability to customize their student IDs to include national, state, local and/or school-specific hotline information. A number of states have even mandated that these hotlines and support information be printed on student ID cards.

"Statistics show that services, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, are effective in reducing emotional distress and suicidality. These services can also help divert callers from unnecessary law enforcement, emergency and hospital services," explains Langer. “We hope the ease and accessibility of this feature will help keep college campuses safer and save student lives.”