Studierendenwerk Mainz serves about 40,000 students at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz University of Applied Sciences and Bingen Technical University.
Studierendenwerk Mainz modernizes payment
For many years, students have been making cashless payments with a MIFARE® DESFire® card. In perspective, Studierendenwerk Mainz has decided to completely dispense with their Studicard. In the future, payment will only be possible with the smartphone app – myPurse.
Dual payment system
Our mobile payment system myPurse has been in use at the Studierendenwerk for two years. Via the homepage of the Studierendenwerk, the payment app is available for download in the respective app store. Of course for Android and iOS.
Currently, two different payment systems are established side by side. In the dining halls and cafeterias, it is currently possible to pay with both the payment app and the Studicard in parallel. This is in the interest of the students.
Our current hardware is already equipped in such a way that payment via app is possible without any problems. The revaluers and vending machines simply had to be upgraded on site. At the cashier workstations, the outdated readers were replaced with the new generation of RS 260 readers.
“We are very pleased to be able to present our guests and residents with a new alternative to the tried-and-tested Studicard: The app makes paying in our dining halls and cafeterias, at the food truck and in the dormitories even easier,” reports Alexandra Diestel-Feddersen, Managing Director of Studierendenwerk Mainz.
Top up credit
There are various methods available to customers for topping up their credit.
As usual, the credit can be topped up with banknotes at the top-up machine. Use the payment app to scan the QR code generated on the display of the revaluator or enter the Studicard – and the credit is loaded.
Another option for topping up is the autoload procedure. A SEPA direct debit authorization is stored here. If the credit falls short of a minimum balance, the amount released by the user is debited from his or her bank account after confirmation.
If the credit is topped up by Autoload, it is also possible to do this in the washrooms of the halls of residence. Here, the Studierendenwerk provided the necessary network cabling.
Paying with the app – fast and flexible
Download the app, scan the QR code generated by the RS 260 and make a payment immediately. Contactless and secure. If the student status is stored digitally, the subsidized amount for the meal is automatically deducted. For this purpose, the data is created in a self-service process and verified on the part of the university/college. Of course, this is done in compliance with the German Data Protection Ordinance. Since it is a closed payment space, the credit cannot be lost if the smartphone is lost, because it is securely located on the server system and can be retrieved at any time. Checking one’s user data and transactions is also quick and easy in the app.
“Taking subsidy levels into account is particularly interesting for organizations that want to offer customers different prices based on certain characteristics, such as trainees, students or special guests,” says Ralf Schomäcker. “With myPurse, we offer a user differentiation that is generally not possible with other mobile payment solutions.”
myPurse – the next generation of payment
The sharp increase in downloads of the payment app confirms that students are embracing and supporting the new payment modality.
“Almost 90% of all newly enrolled students now opt for the payment app when they start their studies,” says Rainer Siebert. As EDP manager, he and his team have supported the introduction of the app. The app is very well received, because it is much easier for students to pay with a payment app than with the Studicard. “I’ve forgotten the card before, but I always have my smartphone with me. For me and for all the people who study with me, the introduction is a great convenience gain,” says Lena Schmitz, a student at the university.
The high level of acceptance proves the Studierendenwerk Mainz right. Starting in the fall of 2022, the issuance of new cards will be completely discontinued. The app is inexpensive, sustainable, safer and more hygienic.
Once the payment app is used across the board, chip cards will no longer need to be issued in the future – saving costs. There will be no more plastic waste for cards to be replaced – this is more sustainable.