Some students are finding convenience in a new plastic debit card system that works like the College's declining balance system but is accepted at local restaurants and grocery stores.
Currently, 65 students have the Hanover Green Card, which allows members to charge their purchases at selected Hanover stores instead of paying cash.
Twelve stores accept the card, including Everything But Anchovies, Stinson's Village Store, the Bagel Basement, Foodstop and Videostop.
Some business owners including EBAs said the Green Card has helped them increase profits. But others say they are still waiting for their membership investment of $85 to pay off.
"There's no increase in business yet," Bagel Basement owner Demby Coyles said. "We were looking to the long run. We hope [the card] will be an incentive for students to keep coming down here."
It costs students $235 to start an account, which includes a $75 deposit to cover any overdrawn accounts or fines, an initial balance of $150 and a $10 fee per term. The start-up fee includes coupons at the stores.
The company now lets members use a major credit card as collateral for the $75 deposit, owner Mitch Jacobs '94 said.
The Green Card looks and works like a credit card. Members have to present their card and sign a receipt to make a purchase. But unlike a credit card, members can only draw on money they have already deposited.
"It's money everyone's spending anyway they might as well give this a shot," Jacobs said. A brochure for the card estimates upperclass students spend over $700 in declining balance on their validine cards at the College, only $325 of which is required.
Cardholders face total spending limits during set time periods to prevent overdrawing their accounts. Card use is capped at $30 from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., which would for example allow a cardholder to charge dinner at EBAs, pick up a six-pack of beer at Stinson's and grab a movie from Videostop on the way home.
The cards can also be used for deliveries, Jacobs said.
Jacobs said he hopes to automate the process by Winter term to avoid the chance of a student mistakenly overdrawing an account.
