All restaurants on campus are now checking photo identification with credit or debit card purchases exceeding $10 as part of a new anti-theft measure.
The new policy is to maintain Payment Card Industry compliancy, which is designed to ensure all companies that process, store or transmit credit or debit card information maintain a secure environment, according to Jianne Johnson, a manager at Retail Dining Service. Johnson said in order to verify that people aren’t stealing credit cards, the campus restaurants are now asking for ID.
“We want to make sure customer security information is kept secure. It’s a safety precaution,” Johnson said. “We don’t want people maxing out stolen cards, and we (dining services) don’t want to be held liable for charges.”
Students can still use their parents’ credit or debit cards if the student’s name is on the card or if the back of the card is signed with the student’s name, according to Johnson.
Photo ID does not need to be checked with CatCards because there is already a photo on the card, said Leanne Weigel, dining services supervisor of the Park Student Union.
“It’s scary to think of all the ID theft these days,” Weigel said. “We want to safeguard against it,” Lupita Lopez, a retail manager at Retail Dining Service, said students she has come across have not complained about the new policy, but thanked her for it.
“They say, ‘Thank you for asking,’” she said, because students are generally more concerned about credit card theft than they are about having to show ID.
In addition, campus restaurant employees said the new policy isn’t significantly slowing them down.
James Romine, an employee at the Park Avenue Market and a junior studying physics and mathematics, said the anti-theft measure hasn’t slowed him down “at all.”
“People are pleased we are taking action to keep their identities safe,” he said. “I haven’t gotten any complaints.”
Rachel Tilly, a cashier at the Park Student Union, said the checkout pace “goes the same,” despite the fact that she is checking more IDs now.
“A few people are asking why they now check IDs,” she said. “As a cashier before, I’m used to checking for ID, so it doesn’t make me uncomfortable.”
Johnson added that this is the “perfect time” to purchase a meal plan, because the student’s picture is already on the CatCard itself.
“You can use your CatCard throughout all of campus,” she said.
