Ball State students will soon have the option of viewing their bursar bill online. By May, paper bills will be eliminated and students will receive bills entirely through electronic billing. Beginning this month, students and authorized payers will also be able to make electronic payments via e-check using the new billing system.  

The new system, called Cardinal QuickPay, provides an electronic bill and enables students and parents to pay electronically while gradually phasing out the current paper bill. The move to online billing, an effort to enhance service to students and parents while eventually reducing operating costs, is expected to be unveiled in mid-November, said Judy Merritt, director of Ball State's bursar and loan administration office. 

To use the system, students must create a user ID and password and provide Cardinal QuickPay with a payer's e-mail address. Students can set up other persons, such as their parents, as authorized payers.

When a bill is ready to view, the system will notify the student and authorized payers by e-mail.

"By running paper and electronic bills simultaneously for five months, we are getting students and parents used to looking at the account information online before we discontinue the paper bill," Merritt said.

Merritt said university officials are confident that Cardinal QuickPay will be a secure and safe way to pay bills online. The program uses the infiNET service system, which meets the industry standard for credit card and banking industries.

But, Merritt added, while paper billing will be eliminated, those who would rather make payments in a more traditional check-by-mail fashion will still be able to do so. Students and authorized payers will be able to print out billing statements and mail a check to the bursar if they choose.