Binghamton University students have been using their identification cards to purchase food from on-campus dining halls and food courts for years, but recently students have been able to use these cards to purchase food at off-campus locations as well.
The BUC$ system, a debit account program established in 1999 that puts money on your BU ID Card, is now accepted at numerous locations off campus, making it more convenient for students to spend in the neighboring community without carrying around cash.
Jamie Flaherty, off-campus solutions area operations manager, affirmed the versatility and usage of the BUC$ system, citing that its acceptance ranges from a night out with friends to paying for medical bills at University Health Services.
“Five Guys, Argo Restaurant, Kilmer Brasserie & Steakhouse, McDonald’s and Moe’s Southwest Grill have recently all decided to participate in the program,” Flaherty said.
Using the Binghamton BUC$ account may also unlock student discounts.
“From time to time, merchants will run specials just for the BUC$ account,” Flaherty said.
Jeremy Fishlow, a junior Watson Engineering Student, has used BUC$ at Moe’s Southwest Grill, Subway and at the University bookstore, agreeing that it makes spending on and off campus more convenient.
Participating shop keepers have responded positively to the University including them in this program.
Courtney Einsla, restaurant manager of Denny’s, claims that 20 to 25 percent of her customers use a Binghamton BUC$ card.
Many students have yet to take full advantage of what the BUC$ account has to offer.
Megan Bogdan, franchise owner of Five Guys in University Plaza, said that around 20 percent of her customers are college students, but BUC$ use is rare.
“It’s pretty low,” she said. “I’d say 4 to 5 percent.”
This was further affirmed by Bogdan’s neighbor franchise, Cold Stone Creamery.
According to Josh Goodrich, general manager of the University Plaza branch of Cold Stone Creamery, students are buying ice cream with BUC$ at very low numbers.
“Anytime you have accounts like this that go from on campus to off campus, it does take several years to get everybody using it,” Flaherty said. “It was decided in 2007 to expand the program to include off-campus locations based on student demand for more choices. The BUC$ program is more about the convenience of having one card, one program and many options.”
According to Flaherty, the BUC$ account provides an easy way for students, and their parents, to make deposits into an account which can be used in the bookstore, on- and off-campus dining locations and in vending machines around campus.
All students need to start a BUC$ account is a BU ID card that has once been activated with a meal plan.
“Students who have never registered for a meal plan would need to contact the meal plan office in person or by phone to have their BUC$ account activated,” Flaherty said. “The account is then linked directly to the student ID card.”
Most businesses seem generally content with the current BUC$ system, yet it is not without its dissatisfied merchants.
“I think the speed of the connection is definitely a problem when we’re busy on the weekends,” Bogden said. “I think it’s going to be more successful as the years go.”