UCF ID changes to start Monday

Starting Monday, UCF Card Services is expanding the capabilities of student IDs, without students needing to get a new card.

Students and parents can now go online to view transactions, add money, known as Knight Cash, set or change the PIN and suspend the account if the card is lost or stolen, according to Tammy Kidder, UCF Card Services manager.

Kidder said the online features will make the ID cards more user-friendly, and the transactions will appear in real time.

For example, when you go to lunch on campus and then check your balance online, the transaction will be posted right away.

The original Smart Card system worked offline, meaning it usually took a couple of days to show up in an account.

"Card Services wanted to offer the students more options when using and managing their student ID cards," Kidder said of the change.

The system will now work just like a checking account, meaning students cannot spend more than their balance.

Students using the Smart Card will have to transfer the funds into their Knight Cash account, because purse money has been discontinued.

There will be a total of nine Easy Convert Stations: three in the Card Services office, four around the main campus and two on the Rosen campus. These stations are only used to transfer money from the smart chip to the magnetic stripe on the back of the card.

To transfer money, students need to insert the chip of their ID card into one of the Easy Convert Stations.

It will read the amount, move that total to the student's online account and debit the funds from the smart chip.

Afterward, students must go online and set up a PIN.

The next time students use their card, all they have to do is swipe the magnetic stripe and the funds will be drawn from the account, Kidder said.

She said she hopes the kiosks and stations where students load money into their account will not be needed as much because students can now manage their funds online.

Brett Rankin, a senior electrical engineer major, uses the Smart Card system but is happy for the improvements.

He said it was a hassle having to go to the kiosk stands to put money on the card.

Sandy Setien, a junior psychology major, said the change is useful because she rarely uses her card because she doesn't carry cash and cannot add money.

"Now, I can hop on my laptop and put money in my account to use for vending machines that only take the UCF cards," Setien said.

For now, the only off-campus location the card can be used at is Domino's Pizza because it has a contract with UCF Dining Services.

With the new, more convenient way of using ID cards, Rankin hopes the card can soon be used at additional off-campus locations.

Until that happens, the change will save UCF some money.

"The smart chip is very expensive. It costs $6 for every card," Kidder said. "On the new cards, there is no smart chip, making the card less than a dollar to buy."