DownstateCard Debit Account
Enrolled students and paid staff are issued DownstateCards equipped with a “smart" computer chip (a gold colored item above your printed name). This smart chip allows the cardholder to open a DownstateCard Debit Account. The smart chip holds securely encoded financial information about your account. Presently, you can use your DownstateCard debit account feature to make purchases at vending machines, photocopy service and residence laundry rooms. Future applications will include parking garages, meal plan, bookstore and other retail operations.
If your card doesn’t have a “smart” chip on it and you wish to open a debit account, your card will be upgraded free of charge at the Downstate Card office. However you will be required to deposit $20.00 in your card at the DownstateCard Office (This $20.00 is NOT the cost of your new card; This is money that you can use instantley at locations where the Downstate debit card is accepted).
How does the debit card work?
The chip on your DownstateCard has three types of account “purses” available for use. The general purse can accommodate up to $100. The bookstore purse can accommodate up to $4,000, and the meal plan purse can accommodate up to $4,000. To activate the general purse of your debit account, simply go to any of the cash-to-card revalue stations located at the Library Copy Center or next to the ATM machines at the Basic Science Building.
To add value to the general purse of your DownstateCard debit account:
•Insert your DownstateCard face up, chip first.
•Make your selection.
•Insert $1, $5, $10, or $20 bills into the bill acceptor.
•Wait until your card ejects automatically (Do NOT pull your card out)
Once you are done, you can purchase items at campus facilities easily and conveniently and SAVE. You can return to the cash-to-card revalue station at any time to add values.
To activate your bookstore or meal plan purses, you have to go to the DownstateCard office and open an a secured account (add info to descibe why this is necessary- you will need to encode a PIN number to use these purses, use of these purses are restricted, parents often want to make sure a student uses funds for a particular purpose (bookstore items or food only, The meal plan purse requires you to sign a meal plan contract which due to its sales tax exemption and IRS regulations have specific requirements, etc…).
Refunds: There will be no refund for value in the open purse upon the student/employee retirement, termination, graduation or separation from Downstate Medical Center. Upon seperation Values in the bookstore and meal-plan purses will be refunded within 15 business days from notifying the DownstateCard office. If the ID was lost/stolen and replaced with a new ID after paying the fee; The total value on the open purse of the lost ID will be transferred to the new card. However there is a 7 business days wait period until accounts are reconciled and the exact remaining balance is determined before a transfer can be made.
If you find a debit card reader on a machine that is malfunctioning, or your card does not seem to be working properly, immediately call the vending hotline at Ext. 2900 (718)270-2900 or email us at vending@downstate.edu.
