JPMorgan and Visa Offer Prepaid Card Solution

The Chase E-funds University Visa card helped migrate the schools traditional paper-based financial aid process to a more efficient electronic card-based process. As part of the normal financial aid process, colleges and universities directly apply loans, grants and scholarship awards upon receipt from the lending institution to cover the students tuition and room and board expenses. Traditionally, the remaining funds are provided to the student in the form of a check, which would then need to be cashed, often times for a fee, or deposited into a bank account. With a student disbursement card program, the remaining funds are electronically loaded onto each students Chase E-funds University Visa card, allowing for immediate access to the money. Prior to the pilot program, Grambling State University administrators noticed that students were forced to miss classes at the beginning of each term to wait in line at the financial aid office to receive refund checks from their federal loans, scholarships and grants. The university required a solution that would streamline the disbursement process while minimizing costs. Chase E-funds University Visa cards transformed the schools paper-based financial aid disbursement process into a faster, more efficient electronic process. Since its inception, more than $24.7 million in financial aid funds has been credited to Grambling students Chase E-funds University Visa cards. In the 2004 academic year, approximately $16.2 million in financial aid funds was credited to students accounts. This is in addition to the $1.6 million in work-study payments, school paychecks and athletic stipends Grambling has disbursed since the pilot program began in 2002. University officials estimate that the elimination of check processing for financial aid refund checks has resulted in an increase in operations efficiency of 15 to 20 percent. Prior to the card, the university processed approximately 8,000 to 10,000 financial aid refund checks and student payments each year. Moving to the Chase E-funds University Visa card saved direct costs, and also the indirect costs associated with printing and signing, subsequent bank reconciliation, and staffing the financial aid office. Today, approximately 80 percent of the Grambling State student body uses the Chase E-funds University Visa card. How It Works The Chase E-funds University card functions like any Visa debit card and can be used to purchase goods everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Student cardholders can also access their funds through the worldwide network of Visa, NYCE, Cirrus and PULSE ATMs. Funds can be accessed surcharge-free at all Chase, Bank One and Allpoint ATMs. Beyond its worldwide acceptance, the card extends valuable Visa protections that Visa debit cardholders enjoy, such as Visas Zero Liability, which protects cardholders from fraudulent or unauthorized transactions if the card is lost or stolen. Students are able to continue to use the same prepaid card throughout their tenure at the school to receive refunds from loans, scholarships and grants, as well as pay received through work-study programs, athletic stipends and any other payments the school may be responsible for administering to them. Future Programs Based on the success of the Grambling State pilot program, JPMorgan and Visa decided to make this innovative program available to all colleges and universities. In just over a year, an additional fifteen schools have signed on to offer the Chase E-funds University Visa card to their students, faculty and staff as a back-to-school must have for the 2004-2005 academic year. These and other programs will be launched just prior to the beginning of the fall semester.