University of the Pacific Makes the Most of Virtual Terminal

The University of the Pacific (UOP), located in Stockton, California, has been using Transact Campus Integrated Payment Solutions for the past 13+ years with much success. 

“I administer the eMarket side of the product,” said Matt Camino, the university’s eCommerce Director. 

Since 2013, the school has been using the Transact Campus Mobile App to process in-person payments, a move that proved highly successful. A Transact case study revealed that in the first two years of using Transact Payments, the university completed more than 6,000 mobile transactions totaling more than $370,000. Before the launch of mobile payments, UP was using secured laptops and cellular transmissions to process debit/credit card payments, but those methods were inefficient. 

“We’ve asked for a true Virtual Terminal payment product, and now we’re using that in locations that traditionally used the Mobile App. With the Virtual Terminal device, we can process payments anyplace there is Wi-Fi—it makes it easy for events,” Camino said. 

Virtual Terminal (VT) is a flexible payment solution that allows students to pay securely for products or services, using a phone, tablet, or computer. VT is available anywhere you can access the internet, and makes transactions seamless, secure, and safe, with a contactless option if desired.  

UOP is one of the first schools to successfully implement VT across its campus. 

“We process hundreds of payments in person for event donations, registrations, dues, etc. I can carry this with me wherever I go...it gives us more flexibility and security.” 

“If a campus uses eMarket Storefronts or ePayment, the onboarding is very simple. The VT leverages the setup already done in the student-facing applications. The learning curve is very small with the application itself,” said Troy Maguire, Senior Product Manager, Payments at Transact. 

Camino has been working with Maguire on a virtual payment solution that would work best at UOP for their specific needs. 

“We spent well over a year looking at the VT product, doing first version alpha testing. We also had faculty members and students do some test transactions,” Camino said. 

“Working with Troy has been fantastic...he’s very organized,” he said. 

Maguire and Camino’s recent presentation at the Transact 360oAnnual Users Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, “Virtual Terminal: Filling Payment Acceptance Gaps on Campus,” revealed the benefits, versality, and flexibility of VT to a room filled with clients like UOP. 

“We’re now using Campus Pay along with Virtual Terminal, which we received a few weeks ago. In the future we can check out the VT devices to faculty or students who are selling Valentine’s Day grams, processing club dues, and taking events payments. So far, it’s working exactly as we planned. It’s a solid piece of hardware that provides secure transactions for our users, whose trust is paramount,” he said. 

UOP is a private, nonprofit school trying to generate scholarship funds for their students, so their reputation with donors is dependent on safe payment transactions, with no errors. 

Recently, Camino assisted at a large-scale fundraising event at which the VT seamlessly accommodated 70 transactions totaling over $40,000. 

“The event was great and went very smoothly. We had all types of transactions too, including EMV Chip Dip, Apple Pay Contactless with Phone, Apple Pay contactless with Watch, and Contactless with the tap of a card. We even had to key in one card.  It was a great experience all around, and there wasn’t a single customer who offered up a payment type that we couldn’t serve,” Camino said. 

Another place VT comes in handy at UOP’s campus is “The Cube,” a technology-rich collaborative space where faculty, students, and staff can design and purchase 3D vinyl printed items, create digital media content, use drones, explore virtual reality, and sew items, among other activities. Previously, each transaction had to be manually keyed in. 

In the future, the school plans to roll out VT to their Continuing Education department, chapel, and pharmacy clinic van, which provides pharmacy services, health checks, and vaccines. Eventually, it will be used across all three campuses. 

“We’ll probably have to buy some more desktop versions and up to 10 more mobile handhelds,” Camino said. 

“There are many more advantages to VT than what we used previously, including the reporting feature. It reduces our scope as to what travels over our network, and makes the compliance process much easier,” Camino said. 

“Virtual Terminal has been successful at UOP due to the creativity of Matt Camino and staff in finding new ways to implement it around campus. The flexibility of VT has allowed them to fill many gaps around campus,” Maguire said.  

How Virtual Terminal Works 

Virtual Terminal is a game-changer for schools and other institutions, with key features including: 

• Ability to accept payment on phone, tablet, or computer 

• Fully integrated with Transact eMarket and ePayment solutions 

• Point-to-point encryption, keeping users out of Payment Card Industry (PCI) scope 

• Integrates with all Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems  

Any cash saved using VT can go toward high-return initiatives, giving your institution even greater ROI. To learn more about Virtual Terminal and request a demonstration, click here.