Frequently Asked Questions

I paid by credit card. Why does my receipt say my payment can be declined by my financial institution?

Credit card processing is done in two major steps. During the first step, we send your payment request to a credit card processor that sends it on to your bank. If the request is approved, your bank sends back an authorization code and we then display a receipt for you to print if you wish. This payment is posted to your student account within one business day. At this point, no funds have actually changed hands.

At the end of each processing day, all of the payment requests are batched and sent to your bank for settlement. This is when your credit card account is actually charged and the funds are transferred to our account. Although your bank may have originally approved the transaction, they may decline it during the actual settlement process. The most common reason for declining a transaction during settlement is an amount that exceeds the credit limit. Also, many cards, particularly debit cards, have a per-transaction limit that is much lower than the credit limit or account balance. In addition, international credit cards often require a phone call for verbal authorization.

It usually takes two business days for us to receive notification that a payment has been declined during settlement. If your payment is declined, we will charge your student account and you will be responsible for the new balance due. To avoid late fees, please allow ample time for payments to be posted by the payment due date.

Categories: Payments