Credit Card Payment Announcement
May 21, 2010
AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING STUDENT ACCOUNT PAYMENT OPTIONS
Please be aware that St. Francis Xavier University will be discontinuing the use of credit cards for payments on student accounts effective September 30, 2010. This measure is one way the University is minimizing costs while continuing to support the high quality of its academic programs offered to our students.
St. Francis Xavier University offers a number of options to make payments on student accounts, including:
- 24/7 online banking;
- telephone banking;
- direct transfer of funds for international students;
- and payment by mail, in person, or via Canada Student Loan. Credit cards will continue to be accepted for application fees, confirmation and housing deposits, Bookstore purchases, and Registrar’s Office services.
Details on all these options, including step-by-step instructions for online banking, are available on the Accounting Services website under the section on methods of payment
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Why is StFX discontinuing the use of credit cards for payments on student accounts?
This measure is one way the University is minimizing costs while continuing to support the high quality of its academic programs offered to our students.
2. What are my payment options going to be?
StFX continues to offer a variety of convenient payment options for our students:
- online banking (“St. Francis Xavier University” is registered as a payee with every major Canadian bank and regional credit union)
- direct transfer of funds (recommended for international students)
- payment by mail with cheque, money order, or bank draft
- payment in person with debit, cash, cheque, money order, or bank draft
- payment via Canada Student Loan
For further instructions concerning payment options go to:
methods of payment section of our website.
3. How does eliminating the option to pay with my credit card help?
Every time you pay for something with a credit card, the vendor (in this case StFX) is charged a fee for that transaction. The fee is a percentage of the overall transaction amount.
By eliminating costs associated with credit card transactions, StFX can reinvest the savings back into supporting the high quality of education StFX has become known for.
4. Why doesn’t the University negotiate a better deal with the credit card companies?
The fees paid by StFX for credit card transactions are not negotiable. They are set by the credit card companies and the University is unable to change them.
5. What is happening at other universities?
Many universities are discontinuing their usage due to the high costs. Recently, Dalhousie, UNB and UPEI discontinued credit card payments for major fees, and St. Thomas is planning to do the same. Several other Universities including Mount Allison have never accepted credit card payments.
6. What can I use my credit cards to pay?
Credit cards will continue to be accepted for many other services such as application fees, confirmation and housing deposits, Registrar’s Office services and Bookstore purchases.
7. Why was I able to pay my application deposit by credit card but not my tuition fees?
It’s really about balancing convenience and cost. The StFX application process is a convenient online process for payment of deposits by students applying from across the province, the country, and around the world. To coordinate payments by any other method during the application process would actually be more expensive to the University.
8. What if my student loan has not come in by the time the tuition payment is due?
Students who get their loan document signed by Student Accounts on or before the payment due date will not have late charges applied to their accounts. However, if the loans do not cover the fees in total, students are required to pay the balance by the due date or late fees will apply.
9. Many international students don’t have accounts with Canadian banks. What is being done to help them?
International students can pay by https://www.mystfx.ca/financial-services/international-payment
*If you currently use online banking where “St. Francis Xavier University” is not set up as a payee, please advise us at (902) 867-2123 or studentaccounts@stfx.ca and we will gladly arrange to become a payee with that institution.
