While paying for food at Houston Market or Au Bon Pain can be as easy as swiping a PennCard, that convenience only extends so far for Penn students.
Unlike at many other schools, the University has policies that prevent students from being able to use their student identification cards -- either in the form of Dining Dollars or PennCash -- at the majority of campus dining options, leaving vendors frustrated.
"We're not sure of the impact it could have on dining," said Marlayne Dundovich, director of the PennCard Center, adding that she has attended several conferences lately where she has received mixed messages about the impact of extending identification card payment to food vendors not affiliated with Dining Services.
"There are so many schools in the spectrum that are saying that it does harm their dining and some that say it has had no impact," Dundovich said.
Dining Dollars consist of a pre-established amount of money included with a particular meal plan package or purchased separately in advance and can be used at vendors run by Dining Services, such as Houston Market, Subway and Au Bon Pain. PennCash allows students to use their Penn Card as a debit card for purchases at a broader range of campus vendors and services, such as Houston Market, campus vending machines, Annenberg Center and copiers and printers in the libraries.
Although Dundovich cites specific University regulations as far as why the payment option is not extended, local vendors disagree and feel they would benefit economically from a change in policy.
Harry Mentonis, one of the owners of Famous Famiglia, a pizza eatery in the Moravian Cafes, is one of them.
"As a business person, without a doubt, it would benefit our business here," Mentonis said, adding that he and other frustrated vendors in the Moravian Cafes have tried to convince the University to allow them to accept either Dining Dollars or PennCash, but to no avail.
Amin Bitar, owner of Bitar's, a Mediterranean food vendor also located in the Moravian Cafes, and Simsum on 40th Street, agreed that being able to accept the PennCard would not only be good for his business, but would make life easier for his customers.
"I would love to have it," he said. "It would certainly be convenient. I think it would help business. I think it would also make it a lot easier for people."
According to Dundovich, because Dining Dollars apply only to the dining system, vendors must establish an agreement with Aramark in order to accept them.
PennCash, on the other hand, with its broader scope, is accepted at several campus vendors not associated with Aramark. Still, the University has restrictions in terms of which vendors can use the means of payment.
"We don't [want to] compete with Dining," Dundovich said. "It's not in the University's best interest."
She went on to explain that in the case of the Moravian Cafes, the proposal for vendors to accept PennCash was put on hold for just that reason.
While it seems contradictory, then, that food vendors like La Petite Creperie and Jammin' Juice Bar accept the PennCard, Dundovich had an explanation for this as well.
"The creperie kind of fits into the mold of Houston Market because all the other vendors in Houston Market accept both" Dining Dollars and PennCash, she said. "Jammin' Juice does not have an impact at all on Dining."
However, competition with Dining is not the only factor that determines whether a vendor can accept PennCash.
She said that PennCash is meant to be a "budgeting tool" for students, enabling them to use their PennCard to purchase necessities.
"One of the most important areas, too, is that parents can feel like they're providing their son or daughter with the feeling that they're budgeting themselves," Dundovich said, explaining that this also means that PennCash should be used for items that a parent, or the University, would want a student to purchase.
"We need to be careful that we're not providing a payment method for anything that the University wouldn't support, like tobacco, alcohol and firearms," Dundovich said.
Whatever restrictions the University may put on the PennCard, students seem to be in agreement that they would appreciate if more vendors would accept PennCash.
Tiffany Liu said that she would be more prone to eating at a dining option that accepted either PennCash or Dining Dollars.
"It would just be a lot more convenient," the College junior said.
College sophomore Andrew Amodeo agreed, especially since he uses Dining Dollars at places like Houston Market and Au Bon Pain and PennCash at the libraries.
"I think that just having the option to have PennCash would facilitate [my dining selection] a whole lot more," Amodeo said, adding that while he would prefer that vendors accepted Dining Dollars, he would be almost as prone to use PennCash if accepted by a vendor.
