Episode 403: Improving Payment Operations with Georgetown University

It’s no secret that the pandemic altered the way colleges and universities carry out their everyday operations, driving campuses to adopt more innovative technology. In this episode of the Focus podcast, Rico Marea, assistant vice president for Revenue Receivables and Payables at Georgetown University shares how they transformed their payment operations by adapting and implementing more modern solutions.

Adapting to new payment options

During the pandemic, Georgetown quickly discovered issuing and receiving paper checks became difficult. With no one able to physically do the work of handling checks, the university was able to push for all departments and offices to accept electronic payment options. Through TouchNet uStores and uPay, Georgetown was able to quickly create payment acceptance websites for students to use.

“A great example of something that we're leveraging [is] the TouchNet solution to simplify payment processes that were painful in many ways, because we were relying on paper checks,” said Marea.

The integration of electronic payment options also helped bill past students still eligible for student health insurance and campus organizations receive donations while cutting back on paper checks. Georgetown’s efforts with TouchNet opened the doors to begin to solve other problems in payment operations.

University procurement cards reimagined

Beyond student finances, TouchNet’s uStore has allowed Georgetown to look further into online reimbursement options for staff with university procurement cards. Before, when a personal expense was accidentally charged to a campus card, employees had to mail a check to reimburse the institution.

Once a uStore can be set up, employees will be able to easily replace accidental spending on pro-cards and have it automatically reallocated on the back end of the financial system. Once Georgetown and TouchNet have fully developed and tested this software, other higher ed institutions will be able to integrate it into their operations.

ACH validation with TouchNet made possible

ACH validation is another integrated TouchNet solution that Georgetown was able to quickly implement; making it is to comply with the new ACH regulations enforced by Nacha.

This new feature reduces the risk of fraud and incorrect or incomplete transactions. With ACH validation integrated in the TouchNet payment solution, invalid bank accounts and input mistakes are not accepted. So students and parents won’t have to worry about their payments and refunds not going through. This feature also benefits the staff, as now there is an automatic way to know what went wrong and how to fix the issue if a bank account cannot be validated.

What’s next for Georgetown?

As Georgetown continues to improve its payment operations with integrated technology solutions, the administration is looking toward new ways to manage the increase in electronic transactions. Marea is focused on data security for students and parents, and working with TouchNet to streamline PCI compliance.

Georgetown’s plan is to keep pushing in the direction they’re going with TouchNet’s help, to continue to improve payment operations to meet the needs and expectations of today’s students and parents. Partnering with TouchNet has allowed them to implement innovative solutions and is an example to other institutions of how we can help transform electronic payments in campuses across the country.