Crimson Cash Buys Textbooks At Coop

Crimson Cash can now pay for more than just food at the Greenhouse. This year, Harvard students are using their Crimson Cash at The Coop to purchase everything from books to bedding.

After more than a year of negotiations with Harvard officials, The Coop began allowing students to purchase merchandise using Crimson Cash at the beginning of September.

"We started thinking about it last year because basically the students were telling us in effect that Crimson Cash was a good thing," Coop President Jeremiah P. Murphy '73 said.

Some Coop employees reported an increase in sales, as well as customer satisfaction with the new policy.

"It's been a big hit," said Fort Adams, a sales representative at the Coop Bookstore in Harvard Square.

"Definitely student sales have gone up," said David M. DeMarco '89, a sales representative at the Brattle Street Coop. But DeMarco cautioned that it was still too early to detect significant changes in student purchases.

Manager of Harvard Card Application

Technologies Jeffery B. Cuppett said "quite a number" of students are using the new service. "We've exceeded The Coop's sales goals," he said.

Cuppett himself used his Crimson Cash Card to buy a glass vase from The Coop on the first day the service was offered.

Coop officials confirmed the early success of the program.

"We wanted to make sure the use of Crimson Cash was at least 4 or 5 percent of sales in textbooks and we've exceeded those goals as sales," Murphy said.

"Crimson Cash is absolutely the fastest transaction on campus. The difference is astonishing at The Coop. It's as if we've cloned Domna [the checker at Annenberg Hall] and put her everywhere," Cuppett said.

Catching On?

But at The Coop yesterday afternoon, it was difficult to find students using Crimson Cash to purchase anything, especially books.

"I don't have to deal with putting money into my Crimson Cash when I can just have it come straight out of my bank account," said Stephen J. Tai '00.

"The only thing I use Crimson Cash for is food and laundry," said Jevan J. Soo '01.

And some Coop employees working on the sales floor said they had not seen dramatic changes since the service was introduced.

"I wouldn't say a lot of kids were using it, but I would say I've seen a lot of kids pleased with it and indicating that their parents were too," said Francis J. Mahoney, who works in the Coop textbook department.

Two Coop employees working the registers in the textbook department, Sarah V. Deloach and Anita K. Valentine, said they had not noticed either a huge jump in sales or a large quantity of students using Crimson Cash to buy books.

And even if students did whip out ID cards for a Crimson Cash purchase, both said the speed of their transactions would not change significantly.

Bringing the Card to The Coop

Murphy said the advantage of this method of payment for parents is the ability to limit the student's buying power. Unlike a credit card, Crimson Cash is only accepted at certain Harvard-related locations, most notably dorm and House laundry rooms and Loker Commons.

Officials involved with the program said a trial period of two to four weeks took place in August, before service began Sept. 4.

"It's an exciting new development which allows students to pay for their books with money they or their parents provide. It allows more flexibility," said Chana R. Schoenberger '99, who has been a student director of The Coop for three years.

"We hope many students will make use of this service," added Schoenberger, who is also a Crimson executive.

Murphy said The Coop wanted to create a method of payment that was better or commensurate to the Coop Credit Card, a private card program The Coop discontinued last year in favor of a Coop Visa card offered by First USA.

During the heyday of the Coop's own card, it was difficult for most college students to obtain credit cards because of their ages and lack of credit ratings. But with the advent of aggressive credit companies eager to snap up students as customers, the Coop faced a shift in the market.

MIT, where The Coop also operates, does not yet have a Crimson Cash type of card. MIT students will have to pay for their purchases at The Coop either with a Coop Visa, or the more traditional cash, check or credit card.

Murphy predicted that Crimson Cash will expand in the years ahead.

"We think it will just grow as we go forward," Murphy said

Technologies Jeffery B. Cuppett said "quite a number" of students are using the new service. "We've exceeded The Coop's sales goals," he said.

Cuppett himself used his Crimson Cash Card to buy a glass vase from The Coop on the first day the service was offered.

Coop officials confirmed the early success of the program.

"We wanted to make sure the use of Crimson Cash was at least 4 or 5 percent of sales in textbooks and we've exceeded those goals as sales," Murphy said.

"Crimson Cash is absolutely the fastest transaction on campus. The difference is astonishing at The Coop. It's as if we've cloned Domna [the checker at Annenberg Hall] and put her everywhere," Cuppett said.

Catching On?

But at The Coop yesterday afternoon, it was difficult to find students using Crimson Cash to purchase anything, especially books.

"I don't have to deal with putting money into my Crimson Cash when I can just have it come straight out of my bank account," said Stephen J. Tai '00.

"The only thing I use Crimson Cash for is food and laundry," said Jevan J. Soo '01.

And some Coop employees working on the sales floor said they had not seen dramatic changes since the service was introduced.

"I wouldn't say a lot of kids were using it, but I would say I've seen a lot of kids pleased with it and indicating that their parents were too," said Francis J. Mahoney, who works in the Coop textbook department.

Two Coop employees working the registers in the textbook department, Sarah V. Deloach and Anita K. Valentine, said they had not noticed either a huge jump in sales or a large quantity of students using Crimson Cash to buy books.

And even if students did whip out ID cards for a Crimson Cash purchase, both said the speed of their transactions would not change significantly.

Bringing the Card to The Coop

Murphy said the advantage of this method of payment for parents is the ability to limit the student's buying power. Unlike a credit card, Crimson Cash is only accepted at certain Harvard-related locations, most notably dorm and House laundry rooms and Loker Commons.

Officials involved with the program said a trial period of two to four weeks took place in August, before service began Sept. 4.

"It's an exciting new development which allows students to pay for their books with money they or their parents provide. It allows more flexibility," said Chana R. Schoenberger '99, who has been a student director of The Coop for three years.

"We hope many students will make use of this service," added Schoenberger, who is also a Crimson executive.

Murphy said The Coop wanted to create a method of payment that was better or commensurate to the Coop Credit Card, a private card program The Coop discontinued last year in favor of a Coop Visa card offered by First USA.

During the heyday of the Coop's own card, it was difficult for most college students to obtain credit cards because of their ages and lack of credit ratings. But with the advent of aggressive credit companies eager to snap up students as customers, the Coop faced a shift in the market.

MIT, where The Coop also operates, does not yet have a Crimson Cash type of card. MIT students will have to pay for their purchases at The Coop either with a Coop Visa, or the more traditional cash, check or credit card.

Murphy predicted that Crimson Cash will expand in the years ahead.

"We think it will just grow as we go forward," Murphy said