Launch of CU Online Store promises improved credit card transactions

In your role at CU, have you wanted to be able to process incoming online credit card payments easily, securely and efficiently?

The Office of the Treasurer is pleased to announce the recent launch of the CU Online Store, a comprehensive framework for processing online transactions within a secure, compliant portal.

Departments at the University of Colorado can request StoreFronts for event registration, invoiced payments, digital products, lab services and many other online offerings. StoreFronts and products can be public facing, like the CU Anschutz Medical Campus Division of Dermatology, or accessed only via a link to the customer, like the CU Boulder Campus Department of Transportation. There are nearly 20 StoreFronts in some phase of development with the capacity for many more.

CU departments have been requesting a solution for credit card payment applications, customizable to their needs. Led by the Office of the Treasurer, the process to bring the Online Store to culmination took nearly two years, following vendor selection, security team approval, campus portal demos, contract negotiation and execution by the Procurement Service Center, website creation, and portal design.

While online payment processing requests continue to grow, it can be a liability for the university if done without the proper controls and procedures, in addition to potential fee assessment by the credit card brands. 

The CU Online Store is powered by Touchnet Marketplace, a leader in credit card processing for higher education institutions. Touchnet Information Systems Inc. is a validated payment application, approved by the PCI (Payment Card Industry) Security Standards Council. Touchnet uses a flexible database and integrated inventory management system to provide robust reporting functionality and reconciliation to the university’s finance system. All transactions post as a separate payment or refund into the department’s general ledger Speedtype and account code by order number.

StoreFront managers and assigned users are granted access to the portal to review transactions, run reports and reconcile payments. University departments must do their part to secure transactions by having each customer use their computer device or mobile phone for accessing the site and processing the payment.

For more information, please review the Online Store website, www.cu.edu/store. Questions can be sent via e-mail to OnlineStore@cu.edu.