Beginning Jan. 4, students who pay their bursar bill with a credit or debit card will be charged a 2.75 percent convenience fee. This will take money out of students’ pockets, but keep more than $500,000 in OU’s pocket each year.
For more than 20 years, OU has been accepting credit card payments and absorbing convenience fees without passing fees onto students, said Bursar Max Hawkins. The fees were absorbed by OU and paid for by the general fund.
“Anyone who accepts credit cards has to accept lost profits or has to adjust their prices,” said Matt Hamilton, registrar and associate vice president for enrollment and student financial services.
After discussing the situation for more than two years, a decision was made Friday to transfer the fees to the student, Hamilton said.
“We can’t [absorb fees] any longer because of belt tightening,” Hamilton said.
The 2.75 percent fee will be applied to all credit card payments through the bursar’s office including tuition, fees, housing payments, athletic tickets and recreation fees, Hawkins said.
The charge will not be applied to credit card purchases at restaurants and stores on campus, which have previously adjusted their prices to account for the credit card fees, Hamilton said.
Another change will prevent students from paying their bursar bills with a Visa credit card.
“Visa association rules prohibit the use of a percentage convenience fee,” Hawkins said.
This is significant because 10 percent of the revenue received this semester came from Visa credit cards, Hamilton said.
OU will accept MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit card payments online through oZONE, Hamilton said.
Additionally, the implementation of fees will require all payments to be made online. Credit card payments will not be accepted in person at the Office of the Bursar, Hawkins said.
Finance professor Jim Uskert said students should look for other alternatives to pay their bills.
“The answer is don’t pay your tuition by credit card,” Uskert said.
Electronic checks, cash and money orders can all be used to pay a student’s bursar bill without accruing convenience fees, Hawkins said.
This change in credit card payments has nothing do to with the oZONE conversion, Hamilton said.
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TheJR 2 years, 5 months ago
That's pretty inconvenient, particularly because the only card I have is a VISA. Can't say I'm a big fan of this change.
carp1943 2 years, 5 months ago
This is ILLEGAL. If you are a merchant (which OU is, in this case), you cannot pass on the fee that is assessed when a credit card is used. If OU increased tuition, then there would be no problem. But as this is a FEE to apply only to those who use credit cards:
IT IS ILLEGAL
sooner_born 2 years, 5 months ago
According to the Visa website, Oklahoma is one of ten states that prohibits merchants from imposing credit card surcharges.
Oklahoma Statute title 14A section 2-417: "No seller in any sales transaction may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check or similar means."
Maybe this isn't a "sales transaction" or OU isn't a "seller." Or perhaps the University is making online payment ONLY for credit cards and then charging the fee for the use of any online payment. This makes sense since you won't be able to pay with a credit card in person.
bigstinky 2 years, 5 months ago
The Board of Regents just keeps finding underhanded ways to make students pay more without touching tuition. It would be great political campaigning material to stress how much they've actually raised costs for students!
TheJR 2 years, 5 months ago
Personally I'd love for the Daily to find out the legal ways they can do this and publish a follow-up.