Delays for OneCard

More than six weeks after its opening at the beginning of term, International News still does not accept OneCard. The convenience store, located in the Fred Nichols Campus Centre, replaced the C-Spot, which was closed following the 2010-2011 school year, and was ready for the hordes of incoming students this fall, however, their OneCard system was not.

Wilfrid Laurier University manager of OneCard David Playfair said the popular method of payment should be available soon, but problems with equipment and servers have caused delays.

“We were very anxious for the new owner to accept OneCard and we’re glad he’s on board,” Playfair said Tuesday. “I’m anticipating it will be up before you know it.”

The OneCard office ordered the equipment for International News to install the system from their supplier in Colorado in August, however backorders meant the equipment wasn’t received until recently. Now, an IP connection issue is further delaying the process, though Playfair was expected to meet with International News owner Marc Trembly on Wednesday to clear up the problem.

Senior store manager and Laurier grad Heather Budd said she expects the system to be up and running by the end of the week, in the meantime the store takes debit, credit and cash, also offering up to $40 cash back with each debit transaction. When students opt to pay with debit however, they are being charged an additional 20-cent fee.

“It’s to cover the costs to have the debit machines here,” Budd said. “It’s a standard fee with every debit.”

At no time did the store consider waiving the debit fee for students while OneCard was being delayed. Both Playfair and Budd, who said the staff at the store get asked at least one every 20 minutes if they take OneCard, expected the system would have been installed weeks ago.

“I expected it to be ready already,” said Playfair. “There’s just a couple of glitches.”

Signs will be posted to notify students when the system becomes available. Students can also get updates and information from the store by following them on Twitter at @INS_WLU.