by KRISTIN LARMORE
Lifestyles Reporter

Out with the old and in with the new.

Students can now swipe more than just their AppCard at Food Services locations with the implementation of a new cashier system accepting credit and debit cards April 15.

Director of Food Services Ron Dubberly said his department has been planning the change for two years, but never advertised because he wanted to ensure processing went through on time.

The juice bar at the Student Recreation Center is the only facility not equipped with credit capabilities, which will take effect next semester.

“I think it’s good because I don’t really carry a lot of cash,” junior political science major Thomas R. Rickenbaker said.

Like many students, he tends to spend what’s sitting in his wallet.

Though most of his friends use their meal card, Rickenbaker said he typically hits the dining areas that offered credit and debit transactions after his sophomore year when he lost the luxury of swiping his AppCard.

Now, he said he will use credit all the time.

The previous units, which would require a separate machine to do a credit transaction, were 15 years old and needed replacing anyway.

Dubberly understands the inconvenience.

“If students are like me, I don’t even carry cash anymore,” he said.

But the primary delay was due not only to the old registers but to the uncertainty of the effect of transaction fees on the university.

Fees are nonexistent with cash, check or AppCard and the higher the fees, the more self-supporting Food Services must charge students.

“That costs probably in the neighborhood of $250,000 to buy the server and all the cash registers that we need,” Dubberly said. “We had to do something anyway.”

It costs the university about $2.20 for a one-time $100 transaction, while it costs about $6 for the same $100 in 20 transactions of $5 each, but Food Services cannot predict what students and customers will do.

“We don’t know if it’s going to increase our business,” Dubberly said. “If it converts people [to credit use] and our business stays the same, it’s [going to] cost us money.”

Last week, River’s Street Café received between $250 and $350 per day, Sanford Commons received $200 to $300 per day and Park Place and Cascades totaled between $150 and $170 per day.

Sanford Commons cashier T. Anne Lewis said Friday a few students were going to use a different form of payment, but used their credit card after realizing it was an option.

“They don’t even have to sign a receipt unless it’s over $20,” she said.

Because the administration did not inform students about the changes, some remain unaware unless they visit the dining hall on a regular basis.

Park Place cashier R. Jean Pruitt said late morning on Friday she only had one credit card transaction since 7 a.m.

She thinks many students might take advantage of it, though.

“A lot of them are seniors and they graduate this year and they’re about out of money [on their AppCard],” she said.

McAlister’s Deli and The Market were the only facilities offering this feature until this past week.

McAlister’s and the SRC are the next to get the new database and new cash registers.

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