Financial aid gets upgrade to Peninsula College MasterCard

Published 12:01 am Monday, January 21, 2013

PORT ANGELES — Merchants can expect to see a new MasterCard soon that features a photo of Peninsula College on the front.

Peninsula College is working with Higher One, a financial and banking services company that serves higher education, to provide Peninsula College students with electronic disbursement options for financial aid refunds.

“Delivering financial aid refunds to students electronically is more secure and can help students manage and track their money over handling checks and cash,” said Krista Francis, financial aid director at Peninsula College.

PC students may elect to use a Peninsula Card, a debit MasterCard that can be used at any location where MasterCard is accepted.

It functions like other debit cards attached to a checking account.

The funds are disbursed from the school to the student and are meant to be used for books, room and board, and other expenses associated with pursuing higher education.

“This new system will also allow the college to save money on printing and mailing of paper checks multiple times a year,” Francis said.

“We expect the program to be widely adopted and want local merchants to know that the Peninsula Card is likely to be seen and used by our students in and around town.”