Starting after Thanksgiving break, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union will be a much more convenient place for hungry students in a hurry. Starting Monday, Nov. 26, all Union restaurant locations will be accepting credit cards.

All of the cash registers have been activated to run credit cards, and the campaign’s first launch will start on schedule as long as no complications arise.

Credit cards have been accepted on campus for some time in limited locations like the UWM Book Store, Outing Center, Craft Center and Panther Card Office, but there were some worries about accepting the payment method Union-wide. Cindy Wirtz, UWM auxiliary services financial manager, said the university was concerned about check out time delays and security before implementing the system for restaurant operations.

“Even if it’s five seconds per person, do you know how much that could back up a line?” Wirtz said. “It’s all about timing.”

Wirtz said now anyone using the university’s restaurant services, including all Grind locations around campus, will be able to simply swipe a card and get out of line.

The university will have to pay a small fee to the respective credit card companies for each purchase, but Wirtz estimates that it will only be around 2 percent of each transaction.

At the Gasthaus in the Union’s basement, employee Clara Forrest is tired of turning away customers who don’t have cash. She said too often she and other employees have to send customers up to the ATM, only to have them not return.

Forrest said as of Nov.15, she hasn’t been trained yet in the new system, but isn’t too concerned, as it will be a matter of pushing buttons.

While it will be more convenient for customers, Forrest said it will probably increase revenue too for the Gasthaus.

Will Kaiser, a UWM student, said he will use the new credit card system but said he is against the idea of college students charging more purchases to cards.

“If they accept credit cards in the Union, it will increase the amount of debt of college students,” Kaiser said. “The college student already has enough debt to deal with when they graduate."

> Comments