Wells Fargo on Campus Transforms to Affinity Plus
Julia Barton ® Staff Writer |
Photo by Kjerstin Hall ® Staff Photographer |
Affinity Plus is replacing Wells Fargo in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Centennial Student Union as the process of renovations continues.
Located on the CSU’S main floor near the campus hub, Wells Fargo MNSU’s on-campus banking facility, will be replaced.
Within the last decade the banking industry has changed dramatically. MNSU decided to no longer partner with Wells Fargo, a banking provider for students and faculty, due to the lack of demand for the banking service.
Located in the lower level of the CSU, Affinity Plus has been in place for quite some time across from the computer store.
“Even prior to COVID-19, people weren’t going into the bank physically as much as they used to 10, or 20 years ago. Even going to an ATM is not as common as it used to be, most people now just use their card,” said Rick Straka, vice president for finance and administration.
MNSU had introduced MavCASH around 1994 in partnership with First Bank (now US Bank) as this was a fairly new feature ahead of the times. This feature made buying items with your MavCARD possible as described in the vending feature.
Many notable bank providers such as TCF, Affinity Plus, and Wells Fargo had been partners with this feature before this aspect of the card was discontinued as of May 2020.
Dining dollars is currently the alternative way to buy food items with your MavCARD as it allows access to all university dining services.
Other banking apps such as Venmo, Apple Pay, and PayPal have been more popular among the younger generation thus decreasing the need to take out cash or write checks.
“I use Venmo for pretty much everything,” Maggie Dipf, freshman at MNSU commented.
Evan Taylor, freshman at MNSU said,“Personally I still carry a little cash but I know most of my friends just use Venmo to pay me back when we get food.”
Online banking has become another aspect in which people don’t have to physically go into their bank.
“Honestly I don’t remember the last time I was in an actual bank,” Madison Fisher, junior at MNSU said.
Erica Johnsrud, freshman at MNSU gave her thoughts,“There’s really no need to go into a bank to transfer money or deposit checks because you can do it all from your phone now.”
Looking toward the future students can expect slight upgrades and changes throughout the CSU as resources are available, mostly likely taking place in the summer or fall season.
“MNSU is a really energizing place to work, I’m very hopeful by next fall things will be more normal and lively, but with every challenge comes some opportunities, we’ll look at those opportunities and see how we can serve the students better as we move forward,” Straka continued.
Affinity Plus is replacing Wells Fargo in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Centennial Student Union as the process of renovations continues.
Located on the CSU’S main floor near the campus hub, Wells Fargo MNSU’s on-campus banking facility, will be replaced.
Within the last decade the banking industry has changed dramatically. MNSU decided to no longer partner with Wells Fargo, a banking provider for students and faculty, due to the lack of demand for the banking service.
Located in the lower level of the CSU, Affinity Plus has been in place for quite some time across from the computer store.
“Even prior to COVID-19, people weren’t going into the bank physically as much as they used to 10, or 20 years ago. Even going to an ATM is not as common as it used to be, most people now just use their card,” said Rick Straka, vice president for finance and administration.
MNSU had introduced MavCASH around 1994 in partnership with First Bank (now US Bank) as this was a fairly new feature ahead of the times. This feature made buying items with your MavCARD possible as described in the vending feature.
Many notable bank providers such as TCF, Affinity Plus, and Wells Fargo had been partners with this feature before this aspect of the card was discontinued as of May 2020.
Dining dollars is currently the alternative way to buy food items with your MavCARD as it allows access to all university dining services.
Other banking apps such as Venmo, Apple Pay, and PayPal have been more popular among the younger generation thus decreasing the need to take out cash or write checks.
“I use Venmo for pretty much everything,” Maggie Dipf, freshman at MNSU commented.
Evan Taylor, freshman at MNSU said, “Personally I still carry a little cash but I know most of my friends just use Venmo to pay me back when we get food.”
Online banking has become another aspect in which people don’t have to physically go into their bank.
“Honestly I don’t remember the last time I was in an actual bank,” Madison Fisher, junior at MNSU said.
Erica Johnsrud, freshman at MNSU gave her thoughts, “There’s really no need to go into a bank to transfer money or deposit checks because you can do it all from your phone now.”
Looking toward the future students can expect slight upgrades and changes throughout the CSU as resources are available, mostly likely taking place in the summer or fall season.
“MNSU is a really energizing place to work, I’m very hopeful by next fall things will be more normal and lively, but with every challenge comes some opportunities, we’ll look at those opportunities and see how we can serve the students better as we move forward,” Straka continued, Taking into account that COVID-19 related delays have been a factor throughout the 2020-2021 school year.