Once again Mac is woefully letting me down.

I'm trying to pay my bill and I am literally blown away at how hard they make this.

Someeeehow, yet I can't fathom why, Mac's system is not set-up to allow any payments by credit card, which is by far the most popular form of payment for anything that costs thousands of dollars. So there goes that form of payment.

On to the debit card. "Interac Online", which I'm assuming is a simple online interface to pay with your debit card like you normally do online with your credit card, also does not work for me. Nearly every banking institution (RBC, Scotiabank, TD, BMO, etc.) has this set up for Mac's online payment system. My bank, CIBC (the 2nd largest behind RBC I believe), does not.

Alright whatever, I'll go in person (which I did today). And firstly, Mac's parking is so incredibly abysmal that I have to park at the Pancake House and walk 15 minutes in the rain to get to Gilmour Hall and the administration. But that's another issue and I'm sure it's already been exhausted. First up... credit card again? Nope, the system is the same in-person and they don't allow this yet again, for whatever reason. Alright, my debit card then has to work, right? Nope, there is a withdrawal limit (of course). I call the bank and they say I can't have a limit over $3,000, and in fact, even my dad cannot pay from his account since the same limit applies to him (and every other CIBC customer, no matter their status).

Okay then, Mac... can I just pay $3,000 now and come back to pay another ~$3,000 when I'm able to? Nope, no dice. You have to fall in line with one of their "flex plans". I was so pissed off at this point that there was no way I was even going to get in to what this meant, so I can't touch on any of that and how effed up I'm sure it is as well.

Jesus christ... I guess I'll have to call and see if I can pay by cheque or money order (seriously, who uses cheques now-a-days?) and spend another 2 hours of one of my last days of summer on all this bullsh*t.

Insane... but I've come to expect no less from Mac.

Originally Posted by drew4008

Once again Mac is woefully letting me down.

I'm trying to pay my bill and I am literally blown away at how hard they make this.

Someeeehow, yet I can't fathom why, Mac's system is not set-up to allow any payments by credit card, which is by far the most popular form of payment for anything that costs thousands of dollars. So there goes that form of payment.

On to the debit card. "Interac Online", which I'm assuming is a simple online interface to pay with your debit card like you normally do online with your credit card, also does not work for me. Nearly every banking institution (RBC, Scotiabank, TD, BMO, etc.) has this set up for Mac's online payment system. My bank, CIBC (the 2nd largest behind RBC I believe), does not.

Alright whatever, I'll go in person (which I did today). And firstly, Mac's parking is so incredibly abysmal that I have to park at the Pancake House and walk 15 minutes in the rain to get to Gilmour Hall and the administration. But that's another issue and I'm sure it's already been exhausted. First up... credit card again? Nope, the system is the same in-person and they don't allow this yet again, for whatever reason. Alright, my debit card then has to work, right? Nope, there is a withdrawal limit (of course). I call the bank and they say I can't have a limit over $3,000, and in fact, even my dad cannot pay from his account since the same limit applies to him (and every other CIBC customer, no matter their status).

Okay then, Mac... can I just pay $3,000 now and come back to pay another ~$3,000 when I'm able to? Nope, no dice. You have to fall in line with one of their "flex plans". I was so pissed off at this point that there was no way I was even going to get in to what this meant, so I can't touch on any of that and how effed up I'm sure it is as well.

Jesus christ... I guess I'll have to call and see if I can pay by cheque or money order (seriously, who uses cheques now-a-days?) and spend another 2 hours of one of my last days of summer on all this bullsh*t.

Insane... but I've come to expect no less from Mac.

A cheque would be your best option.

Would you really want to pay an extra 120$ (2% on 6000$) for credit card service, it's even more expensive for those in residence who pay 15-16k (which is 300-320$).

Also, the limit only applies for in-person charges. You can pay via online banking, there is no limit then. I have no problem paying more than 3000$ online and neither to my parents. (I'm with PC [owned by CIBC] and my parents are with CIBC)

If you pay with credit card, the university has to pay fees for the service (and apparently a percentage of the sale? I have no idea, not into banking at all). It's far more cost-effective for the university to only accept debit or cheques.

Mac isn't the only one that won't accept credit cards. UWO doesn't.

Originally Posted by drew4008

Someeeehow, yet I can't fathom why, Mac's system is not set-up to allow any payments by credit card, which is by far the most popular form of payment for anything that costs thousands of dollars. So there goes that form of payment.

Credit card companies take a cut of every purchase, usually 2 or 3%. That would add up to a lot of money if too many students paid with plastic.

I pay in person with my Dad; takes about 30 minutes tops. Cheques rule.

Originally Posted by jhan523

Would you really want to pay an extra 120$ (2% on 6000$) for credit card service, it's even more expensive for those in residence who pay 15-16k (which is 300-320$).

Also, the limit only applies for in-person charges. You can pay via online banking, there is no limit then. I have no problem paying more than 3000$ online and neither to my parents. (I'm with PC [owned by CIBC] and my parents are with CIBC)

Both my account and my parents' account is with TD, and we both ran into the limit problem when we tried to pay online--I have a $500 limit, so I couldn't pay online. I tried to have my dad pay for it and then I'd transfer the money to his account, thinking he'd have a higher limit, but it still didn't work, so we ended up going in person to the bank to do it.

When I took courses in summer school, I just dropped off a cheque at Student Accounts.

Originally Posted by nerual

Both my account and my parents' account is with TD, and we both ran into the limit problem when we tried to pay online--I have a $500 limit, so I couldn't pay online. I tried to have my dad pay for it and then I'd transfer the money to his account, thinking he'd have a higher limit, but it still didn't work, so we ended up going in person to the bank to do it.

When I took courses in summer school, I just dropped off a cheque at Student Accounts.

That's so weird. I paid for my tuition online through TD (around $18000) and there were no problems.

You can always call TD to raise the limit temporarily for that purchase.

Some people are saying that Mac would have to pay money to allow students to use credit cards, but I think it would be worth it in this case. I mean, we pay money for MUGSI and SOLAR, and they work like sh*t. So why not take money out that and put it into credit cards. It really is the easiest way to pay large amounts at once, like tuition. Most students have student bank accounts, and I don't think many student accounts are allowed to make purchases of $6000 at once (I know my account doesn't let me do that).

Originally Posted by Kathy2

Some people are saying that Mac would have to pay money to allow students to use credit cards, but I think it would be worth it in this case. I mean, we pay money for MUGSI and SOLAR, and they work like sh*t. So why not take money out that and put it into credit cards. It really is the easiest way to pay large amounts at once, like tuition. Most students have student bank accounts, and I don't think many student accounts are allowed to make purchases of $6000 at once (I know my account doesn't let me do that).

Apparently another poster agreed that the company takes 2-3% cut of the purchase. Assuming that tuition is about $5000 per student, that's a $100 loss for the university. A lot of students would probably want to pay with credit since there are benefits (points, cashback). Under the assumption that about 5000 students pay with credit card (out of 20K), that would be a $500 000 loss. Since the university is already hemorrhaging money, forcing students to pay with cheque or debit is their most cost-effective option.

Originally Posted by nerual

Both my account and my parents' account is with TD, and we both ran into the limit problem when we tried to pay online--I have a $500 limit, so I couldn't pay online. I tried to have my dad pay for it and then I'd transfer the money to his account, thinking he'd have a higher limit, but it still didn't work, so we ended up going in person to the bank to do it.

When I took courses in summer school, I just dropped off a cheque at Student Accounts.

Are you actually paying online or are you using interac? Because they are different...

Originally Posted by Kathy2

Some people are saying that Mac would have to pay money to allow students to use credit cards, but I think it would be worth it in this case. I mean, we pay money for MUGSI and SOLAR, and they work like sh*t. So why not take money out that and put it into credit cards. It really is the easiest way to pay large amounts at once, like tuition. Most students have student bank accounts, and I don't think many student accounts are allowed to make purchases of $6000 at once (I know my account doesn't let me do that).

McMaster wouldn't pay for it, it would be the students who would have to pay for it by increasing tuition. I'm pretty sure all places that use credit cards bump up their prices here and there in order to pay for the service.

Originally Posted by Lij

Apparently another poster agreed that the company takes 2-3% cut of the purchase. Assuming that tuition is about $5000 per student, that's a $100 loss for the university. A lot of students would probably want to pay with credit since there are benefits (points, cashback). Under the assumption that about 5000 students pay with credit card (out of 20K), that would be a $500 000 loss. Since the university is already hemorrhaging money, forcing students to pay with cheque or debit is their most cost-effective option.

Why do you assume only 5000 students would pay with credit card? My guess would be that it would be a lot more than that.
I think sometimes the school should have to put money into things that help students. Mac isn't here just to make money. They need to be some sort of decent service to the students.

I'm not saying they should charge students or take the money out of another service, but I'm sure there's something they could figure out. Mac wastes so much money (ie. water fountains that digitally count how many water bottles the water fountain has refilled), I'm sure they could figure out a way to let us pay with credit cards.

Originally Posted by jhan523

Are you actually paying online or are you using interac? Because they are different....

can you please explain to me how interac works exactly?

Originally Posted by Kathy2

Why do you assume only 5000 students would pay with credit card? My guess would be that it would be a lot more than that.
I think sometimes the school should have to put money into things that help students. Mac isn't here just to make money. They need to be some sort of decent service to the students.

I'm not saying they should charge students or take the money out of another service, but I'm sure there's something they could figure out. Mac wastes so much money (ie. water fountains that digitally count how many water bottles the water fountain has refilled), I'm sure they could figure out a way to let us pay with credit cards.

McMaster is a research university, all they really care about is making money. They make money off students to pay for the research. Professors teach in order to get grants from the university. So I truly believe McMaster is here just to make money.

All McMaster wants to do is to "waste" as little amount of money as possible in order to keep the students happy. Sustainability not only make students happy but it also helps them cut down costs. The digital meter itself probably uses as much power as your calculator.

Originally Posted by cjdzl

can you please explain to me how interac works exactly?

It's another word for debit.