HIGHER ONE RECOGNIZED BY CR80-NEWS AS LEADING PROVIDER OF CAMPUS CARD BASED BANKING AND PAYMENT PROGRAMS
Financial Services Company Doubles Client Base in 2005
NEW HAVEN, CT, November 29, 2005 –Higher One, a financial services company that provides refund management and banking services to higher education institutions, is a key player in the campus card banking industry, servicing more clients than several national banks. With 33 college and university clients where students can choose a Higher One OneAccount through a refund or ID card, Higher One currently serves more clients than any other company providing campus card banking services. In the last year, there was a 106 percent increase in the number of colleges and universities that chose to partner with Higher One to provide their students with an ID or Refund Card-based campus banking and payments program.
A recent survey conducted by CR80News, a weekly education industry publication that explores the utilization of card technologies, shows that the number of ID-based partnerships Higher One serves has increased 185 percent since 2003. This quantitative survey also ranks Higher One second in the ID-based campus card banking industry, based on the number of clients who integrate Higher One’s OneDisburse program with their campus ID. The article also notes that a significant number of Higher One clients have chosen to offer the services through a separate “Refund Card” model. Higher One is the only industry provider to offer the choice of ID integration or “Refund Card” to higher education institutions. To view the survey directly, visit http://www.cr80news.com/library/2005/10/09/cr80news-2005-study-suggests-uptake-in-campus-card-banking-partnerships
“We take a great amount of pride in the services we provide our clients and it is great to know we are leading the college and university card-based banking industry. Our patent pending OneDisburse refund management system is the best way for an institution to improve the student payment experience, and is a primary reason that card-based refund management programs are becoming a trend in higher education,” said Dean Hatton, President and CEO, Higher One. “While we have just started to tap our potential as a company, we are certainly happy to already be making a large impact in the industry.”
With its most successful term yet, Higher One has now helped its clients process more than a billion dollars in financial refund disbursements. Higher One is continuing to expand both their company and customer base, with 2005 revenue projections expected to present the most profitable year ever. The company also continues to expand, adding additional employees to continuously improve service to students and administrators. The company’s headcount grew by approximately 50 percent in 2005 and anticipates growing by 80 percent in 2006.
The overall campus card banking industry has recently experienced an increased interest from colleges and universities. A growing number of schools across the country are adopting new card-based refund programs to deliver financial aid, payroll, and other payments to students. With today’s students demanding more when it comes to the services and convenience they expect from their educational institutions, cards offer the perfect platform to deliver multiple services, from student identification, building and event access and on-campus stored value programs, to advanced financial services including Debit cards and online banking options.
Leading the trend within higher education, New Haven, CT-based Higher One has become the standard of service for American higher education institutions looking for ways to improve the payment process. Higher One’s patent pending OneDisburse refund management service is the most efficient, student-centric, and cost-effective way of making payments to students. Higher One started with a unique understanding of students’ needs, as the company was founded by three students who were looking to provide a service to benefit not only students, but also the schools they attend.
“We are currently providing a valuable service to 33 higher education institutions across the nation,” added Hatton. “We are dedicated exclusively to serving the higher education marketplace, and we continually seek feedback from administrators and students through our project managers, customer service, student liaison, and other channels. We look forward to continuing to grow with our customers and partners.”
Schools disburse approximately $15 billion in refund disbursements to students per year through more than 15 million payments. The processing and handling of these payments, along with associated customer services, is estimated to cost schools over $225 million per year. Higher One’s OneDisburse refund management service can vastly improve the student payment experience, and clients have reported significant administrative cost avoidance through adoption of the program.
Higher One has been providing Refund Management and banking services to colleges and universities, and their students, across the US since 2002. Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX reported that their Higher One Bearkat OneCard program generated $240,000 in net cost avoidance in the first semester alone, and after subtracting the initial costs of establishing a card office – produced about $400,000 in gross cost avoidance for the year. The University of West Georgia and Kennesaw State University have both documented substantial, measurable impacts on the institutional operations and were presented with the “2004 Best Practices Award” for their implementation of Higher One’s OneDisburse Refund Management service by the State University System of Georgia Board of Regents.
33 Colleges and Universities across the country have signed with Higher One to use the company’s Refund Management Services. Since September 2002, Higher One has helped its clients disburse more than a billion dollars through over half a million individual payments.
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Focused exclusively on higher education, Higher One provides refund management services to higher education institutions and banking services to members of their community through a card-based solution. Higher One's integrated solution helps universities reduce administrative costs, streamline business processes, create new revenue streams, increase student customer service and strengthen the campus community. Higher One's refund service, OneDisburse, provides students with more choices and better service for receiving financial refunds. Higher One also offers a suite of banking services called OneFinance, which includes the OneAccount, a no minimum balance, no monthly fee checking account, the OneCard, a Debit MasterCard® card for ATM withdrawals and purchases, and exclusive features such as "Send Money", Easy Refund, and Campus AutoLoad for stored value programs. The OneFinance and OneDisburse solutions can be integrated with the institution's ID card or provided through a separate "refund only" card.
To date, Higher One has disbursed more than a billion dollars in refunds for its college and university clients. More than 375,000 students, faculty, and staff at distinguished public and private institutions use Higher One's services through their ID or refund card.
For more information visit www.higherone.com. Banking services are provided through an agreement with Frost Bank, member FDIC.