Purpose

The Board of Governors has provided, in Section 2.3 of the University By-Laws that the “Treasurer shall have the general supervision of and responsibility for the collection, the custody of, and the accounting for all moneys belonging to the University, and it shall be his/her duty to demand and receive all such moneys when due from the State Treasurer, or any other person or persons. The Treasurer shall have general supervision of and responsibility for proper management of all operating funds, including working capital, for the conduct of University operations, of all gift funds made to and trusts created for the benefit of the University and all investment of University funds.”

 Realizing the collection of cash is decentralized at Wayne State University, the purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines to the University community with respect to the handling, receiving, transporting, depositing and reconciliation of University funds.  Acceptable forms of payment by an approved payment center are as follows:

 * Credit and debit card payments for tuition and fees are accepted online only through a third party vendor.  A convenience fee is assessed by the vendor.

 It is also the purpose of this University policy to designate the places and manner of deposit of such funds, to carry out the Board of Governors’ authority to establish bank accounts and maintain relationships with banks and other financial institutions to regulate organizations that are raising moneys for or under the name of the University, and to control the use of the University’s identity in the course of raising these moneys.  Moneys received by the University must comply with this policy.

 This policy also provides guidelines for Schools/Colleges/Divisions who engage in E-commerce activities including the acceptance of electronic checks, credit and debit cards through a University developed or third party vendor website.  Schools/Colleges/Divisions desiring to establish an E-Market site or Stand-alone Merchant Terminal to engage in e-commerce activities must first complete and submit an online application at http://fisops.wayne.edu/bursar/cashier/emarket.php. If approved, units are responsible for complying with the procedures outlined in this policy.

 Definitions

Acceptable Credit Card Companies – Depending on payment center as shown on the chart on the prior page.  MasterCard, VISA, Discover and American Express.

Cash – Includes coins, currency, personal checks, money orders, traveler’s checks, cashier’s checks, credit and debit cards, electronic funds transfers (EFT) including e-checks, wires and Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions.

CASHNet – The University’s Cashier system and E-commerce platform.

Cardholder – The customer; the person whose name appears on the card being used to purchase goods and services.  The cardholder receives a card from the issuing bank.

Card Issuer – Issuing banks underwrite and issue card to individual cardholders who meet credit standards.

Discount Fees – Fees charged by credit card companies to merchants for each credit card transaction.

E-Commerce – Internet based payment card (credit and debit) transactions.

Merchant – A University School/College/Division that accepts credit and debit card payments from internal and/or external customers.  This includes payments that they have processed by a third party software vendor or card payment processor.

Merchant Acquirer Processor – A bank or its affiliate that provides services for processing credit card transactions.

Money(s) – See definition of cash.

PCI DSS – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards adopted by VISA and MasterCard to protect cardholder data.  Among the requirements, these security standards require each merchant to annually fill out a Self-Assessment Questionnaire and the merchant School/College/Division Director must sign the document certifying its accuracy. Compliance is mandatory for University merchants.

PCI Network Scan – Both the external University service provider and C&IT tests of the electronic security of each merchant’s on-line credit card payment application.  An automated tool that remotely checks merchant or service provider systems for vulnerabilities.  Non-intrusive test involves probing external-facing systems based on external-facing IP addresses and reporting on services available to external network.  Scans identify vulnerabilities in operating systems, services, and devices that could be used by hackers to target the University’s private network.

Stand-alone Merchant Terminal - Point of Sale Terminal (POS) device that processes and records purchase transactions.

 University Funds – Moneys received from tuition, room, board, fees, contracts, grants, revenues from University services, state and federal appropriations, gifts, deposits and all other sources of revenue or expense reimbursements and all checks made payable to the University or any subdivisions of the University.

 Background

 The collection and control of University funds at Wayne State University are very important functions.  As the University’s primary cash handling agent, the University Cashier’s Office provides guidance to the University community who need to engage in Cash Collection, E-commerce or Stand-alone Merchant Terminal Card processing.  The responsibilities for operating a Cash Collection Center, engaging in E-commerce and/or Stand-alone Merchant Terminal Card activities are explained in this policy.

 Historical practices shall not constitute justification for deviation from the following guidelines.  The material contained in this document supersedes any previous policies and procedures followed within the University and/or within Schools/Colleges/Divisions regarding the handling of University funds.  The University Treasurer reserves the right to make interpretations and exceptions to the policies contained in this document.

 Changes in the policy and procedures may be made from time to time, and will be communicated by the Division of Finance & Business Operations. Updates will be available electronically through Wayne State University’s website and will be effective upon issuance.