BruinCards to transition from swipes to taps

Students will soon be able to enter dining halls or purchase drinks from vending machines with just a tap – and not a swipe – of their BruinCards.

The change in the BruinCard system is the last phase of the two-year BruinCard Replacement Project, which has an estimated budget of $4 million, according to a 2013 report. The project has two final components: changing the application system and installing new financial card readers. Officials expect the entire project to be completed by summer.

The changes started when officials switched out about 1,000 old card readers throughout campus with new tap-compatible card readers. The next phase of the project involves changing the application system of the BruinCard.

Last week, card readers in dorms switched over to the new application system, with information technology staff converting all 323 doors on the Hill.

Albert Wu, senior director of information management services, said some technological glitches on the Hill were the result of the transition to the new system.

“Any time you cut over systems, you run into occasional glitches,” Wu said. “The reason (the) doors are open is so in case we have doors with glitches, we can let people in without locking them out. I don’t know what the status is, but I know the team is working on the Hill trying to fix any outstanding problems.”

Financial card readers, such as those found in dining halls and attached to vending machines and used at campus stores, currently run on the old BruinCard system. The updated version will allow the readers to accept “taps.”

“Especially at a cash register in high traffic areas, it’s much easier to get through (with tap-compatible readers),” Wu said.

On average, workers at the De Neve Dining hall register will swipe in 1,500 to 1,600 students during one dinner period.

Alejandro Lopez, a third-year linguistics student and worker in the De Neve dining hall, said he thinks the introduction of the new system will help students get in quicker.

“(With the current cards) sometimes the bar code is faded, and it’s a hassle to swipe them in,” he said. “We have to take printer paper and wrap it around cards with faded bar codes in order to get them recognized by the card reader.”

Shreya Chadda, a first-year cognitive science student who lives on the Hill, said she thinks the new system will be more efficient.

“It’s a great thing (that) we are moving toward a more technologically advanced direction,” Chadda said.

Some other students said they were indifferent to the change.

“They can change whatever they like, but it won’t have much of a difference. We’ve been on the swipe system for a long time as well, so I’m used to it,” said Judie Nazareth, a second-year biology student.

UCLA will transfer financial information from the old system to the new system in the project’s final step over spring break. From March 21-22, students will not be able to use their BruinCards for financial services.

Students who will stay on campus over spring break should keep cash with them, said Carmine Marino, director of student accounting.

“If you were expecting to do laundry on the 21st, and leave that night, beware,” he said. “You’ll have to repack your bag.”