CRIMSON CASH

In the nearly four years since Harvard launched Crimson Cash, people are putting more and more money on their Harvard ID cards and on separate Crimson Cash cards. But University officials say the program, which currently has a balance of about $250,000, has yet to make money for Harvard.

The Crimson Cash program, run by Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS), allows Harvard ID cardholders to deposit money in a special Crimson Cash account via Value Transfer Stations (VTS) around campus, over the phone, at the Dining Services Director's office or at a new VTS Website.

The accounts can then be accessed at locations around campus and Harvard Square--from laundry rooms to restaurants to libraries to The Coop--by swiping their card through a Crimson Cash reader.

Probably for security reasons, Cross says, he saw a surge at the beginning of the year in student Crimson Cash balances as parents put money on their sons' and daughters' cards, most likely for purchasing textbooks and dorm paraphernalia.

After the initial surge in many individual accounts, says Raymond R. Cross, Associate Director of Finance and Information Systems at HUDS, the balance went down in most cases to an average of $50 or $60.

"In the past, the average balance during the year was only about $12 or $15. But now, with additional services offered, the average deposit is getting bigger and we are seeing the cash balance growing," he says.

Since Crimson Cash is accessed through ID cards, any of the 130,000 people affiliated with the University may use the program.

Out of those 130,000 cardholders, Cross says, there are about 23,000 active accounts now.

With the addition of new services and new locations at which to use Crimson Cash, Cross and HUDS Director Ted A. Mayer both say they expect to see the number of active accounts grow.

Crimson Cash can now be used to pay for equipment and repair services at the Technology Product Center, purchases at the Coop, photocopies and sourcebooks from Printing and Publishing Services, photocopies at libraries and student phone bills, as well as food and laundry.

"There are lots of places to use Crimson Cash, and we think people will take advantage of that," Mayer says.

A Cash-Free Campus

Crimson Cash is the third of three phases of services following the installation of the access card system several years ago, says Mayer.

The first phase was using students' ID cards to obtain accurate meal counts in the dining halls, he says.

Every time a card is swiped through a card reader, including at mealtimes, the transaction is recorded.

HUDS uses the data to measure "patron velocity"-in other words, to get an accurate picture of how many students are eating in a given location at a given meal. Then, it modifies the number of meals prepared to best reflect the demand.

"Meal cards allowed us to view demographic trends in the dining halls, so we could budget better," Mayer says. "Before meal cards, such counts were inaccurate."

BoardPlus, the program which gives students $50 each semester to use at select dining locations, was the second phase in card services. Its goal, Mayer says, is to afford students greater flexibility in what and where they eat.

The third phase, Crimson Cash, was another effort by HUDS to make College life easier, according to Mayer and Cross.

"We're in the convenience business," Mayer says, "and for the critical mass, this [Crimson Cash program] was the preferred way to do things."

Collective Bargaining

The Crimson Cash program was initially an attempt to ease administrators' burdens financially, say its directors.

According to Mayer, the program is a response to Harvard's decentralized method of dealing with service providers.

"Before the program began, the Houses all had different arrangements with vendors in terms of their vending machines, for sodas and for snacks," he explains.

Mayer says the individual "landlords" who dealt with vendors-in the College's case, House superintendents and building managers-were at a disadvantage financially.

"Crimson Cash consolidated buying power and helped the University get back more money by being able to take advantage of a partnership," he continued.

Even so, Mayer says the revenues from Crimson Cash thus far are "quite nominal."

Cross adds that the money in the Crimson Cash system is not earning any interest.

Mayer explains that whatever money is earned goes back into developing and making improvements to the young program.

"We negotiate a percentage of all sales, two or three percent, depending on the size and scope of the buy, and the commissions mostly go back into the program for upkeep and start-up costs," he says.

As an example of initial expenses, Mayer cites the nine VTS machines around campus, which cost "several thousands of dollars each."

"However, the most popular way to deposit money is over the phone," he says, "and now that we've put VTS on the Web, we think that the online station will become the most popular."

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 says the response to Crimson Cash at the last meeting of the Committee on House Life was positive.

"Students seemed to be very supportive of the program," he says.

He says students' main concern appeared to be the "inconvenience of transferring funds into their Crimson Cash accounts."

"That problem seems to have been taken care of now," he adds.

Convenience Store

Cross explains the initial success of the Crimson Cash program seems to stem from the combination of ease and personal security the program offers.

"Apart from the convenience angle, there's the safety factor," he says. "People don't have to carry cash around with them." Nevertheless, some students say they are skeptical about putting large sums of money on their ID cards, which have a notorious tendency to get misplaced. "I haven't used Crimson Cash for books because it seems risky," says Patricia S. Cho '99.

Others say they don't see the logic behind paying for textbooks with Crimson Cash. "Why would you want to put so much money on your ID card when you can pay for your books other ways?" says Thomas M. Coyne '02.

"That's what credit cards are for," echoes Luis A. Campos '99.

But Cross is quick to point out that financial information is not actually stored on the card itself. Records of money deposited at any VTS-online or otherwise-goes into a computer database.

The magnetic stripe on the card simply allows the system to gain access to the related account.

Mayer clarifies, "It's not one of those debit cards where the actual value of the card goes down each time you use it."

Since cash deposited into a student's Crimson Cash account does not get stored directly on the card, even if a card is lost or stolen, it's not a cause for panic.

A call to Identification and Data Services will render the missing card unusable and a new card will be issued. According to HUD, the account information will be transferred to the new card in about five minutes.

Mayer adds, even if the card is used, a student will not be held responsible for charges made after they have reported the lost card.

So why doesn't the ID office maintain the Crimson Cash program?

"We have interface with the students, and that's key," Mayer says. "We are able to see how it's working and can respond to issues."

He adds, "We're not necessarily more customer-focused [than ID Services]. It's just that our customers are the students, unlike the administration."

To Use or Not to Use

Leslie S. Yeh '00 says she doesn't currently use Crimson Cash.

"I don't need it for laundry because I guess I have enough quarters," she says.

"If there were a price difference for photocopies if you used Crimson Cash, maybe I'd use it, but there's only really a difference now in the cost of print-outs and copies some places," she adds.

Mayer says HUDS and the Crimson Cash program have nothing to do any price disparity.

"The libraries set their own prices," he says. "We just provide an easier way to pay for those services, whatever the price."

Students like Campos say the lower price for things like copies is incentive to use Crimson Cash.

"It's cheaper as well as easier, so I use it," he says.

A Laundry Room Near You

There are currently more than 200 vending machines and 60 laundry rooms equipped with card readers, according to the Crimson Cash Web site maintained by HUDS.

Michael T. Collins, a junior in Kirkland, says his laundry room is one of those unable as of yet to accept Crimson Cash. "I used Crimson Cash last year to do my laundry, and I'd use it this year if there was one here."

Other students seem to agree Crimson Cash is the preferred way to do their wash.

"It's the easiest way to do laundry-I don't have to find quarters," says Campos.

Steve D. Durbin '01 says he and most of his friends use Crimson Cash for "pretty much everything, especially laundry."

Mayer says HUDS plans to add locations so students like Collins will be able to benefit from the program wherever they are.

Students also say that while BoardPlus takes care of major hunger pangs, Crimson Cash is handy for getting a late-night snack or soda from a nearby vending machine.

Cards, Cards Everywhere

Cross says he is pleased with the initial student reception of Crimson Cash but is always on the lookout for ways to improve the program.

"We {HUDS] are used to providing service and taking service out to our customers. By continuing to add locations and by putting VTS online, we're trying to make it even more convenient."

Mayer says the ID card system, which allows for programs like Crimson Cash, seem to cover all the bases for now.

"The way I visualize the card is as the hub of a wheel, and the spokes are the uses of the card: dining access, dorm access, getting into libraries, at [University] Health Services," he says.

"But there are a number of uses the University hasn't taken advantage of yet which they could," he continues.

For instance, he and Cross say, Duke University has a system by which students, instead of buying actual tickets for sporting events, just get a special access privilege added to their card.

When they get to the game or match, they can just swipe their card through a special gate and go in.

In addition to making life easier for Duke students, such a system cuts back on paper waste from tickets, Cross says.

"We could do it if we wanted to," Mayer says, "but HUDS is not pushing it, we're just supplying the technology."

The Future of Crimson Cash

Cross and Mayer say they are mostly concerned now with improving the program for Crimson Cash users and finding new ways to make the card system work for the University community.

"We're happy to hear [the Crimson Cash program] is doing well," says Cross, "but we always want feedback."

Mayer says it will probably take at least another couple of years to get the whole University online, but with plans for new locations and system upgrades quickly becoming reality, Crimson Cash readers will soon abound.

"Crimson Cash is a valuable service, and we want to take it where the people are," says Cross.

Echoes Mayer, "It's going to be everywhere on campus-and hopefully, after everything gets going. we'll start to see some revenue."