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Penn.Pay Frequently Asked Questions
 Effective 07/07/07
 
  Penn.Pay is an electronic billing service that enables you to receive and pay your Penn Monthly Student Account Billing Statements online. You will be notified via email each time a new Student Account monthly billing statement becomes available. From the email, you can link to Penn.Pay to view your billing statement and submit payments. The billing statement you see on Penn.Pay is in the same itemized format as the paper statements that are generated in July and August.
   
 
  • Email and web-based services are becoming the standard means of communication between Penn and its students
  • Many peer (other Ivy League) institutions have successfully converted to electronic billing and have reported high levels of customer satisfaction
   
 
  • Accessibility to your Student Account billing statement from anywhere at anytime
  • Faster service since delays associated with standard mail delivery are eliminated
  • Your statement will always arrive on time thereby helping you avoid late payment penalties
  • Ability to provide multiple family members and/or other payers with access to view and pay your Student Account monthly billing statement
  • Better management of student account history
    Statements and online payment history are kept online for six months; no need for you to file paper bills or cancelled checks
   
 

The Penn.Pay website went live on July 12, 2006, making your Student Account monthly billing statements available to both students and others invited by the student.  Students are able to log in using the PennKey and PennKey related passwordThe July & August Monthly Student Account Billing Statements will be available online via Penn.Pay; paper Billing Statements will also be mailed for these two months for Penn’s incoming students.  In September and going forward, Penn.Pay will be the only way to receive your Student Account Billing Statements. 

   
  Penn has designated Penn.Pay as the official system for student account billing. Therefore, no other billing method will be available.
   
Signing Up for PennPay
   
  As a student, you are already signed up. You can link to Penn.Pay from either the Penn Portal, or from the link provided in your Monthly Student Account Billing Statement notification email. Use your PennKey and PennKey associated password to log on to Penn.Pay. The link is www.sfs.upenn.edu/pennpay/student.
   
  You, the student, will need to log onto Penn.Pay and select the “My Profile” tab. From the top of the Profile page, select “Invite Other Payer”. Next, enter the email address(es) of those people you wish to authorize, complete the remaining fields and click ‘Invite’. Your parents, and any other authorized payers you invite, will receive an email with an Activation ID and a link to Penn.Pay to complete their enrollment. Remember - the payers must also have your 8-digit Penn-ID to complete the enrollment process. The link is www.sfs.upenn.edu/pennpay/otherpayer
   
  No. Penn.Pay is hosted on a secure website. However, your web browser must support 128 bit encryption. See the link below: http://www.upenn.edu/computing/help/doc/browser/www.html for a list of supported browsers.
   
Viewing My Student Account Billing System
   
  You, the student, will be notified by email at your University assigned email address each time your Student Account monthly billing statement is ready. The notification email will include a link to Penn.Pay. You will have the option to add up to two additional email addresses on your Penn.Pay profile.
   
  You may print the Student Account monthly billing statement and payment coupon and mail or fax them to your designated payers (i.e. parents, your employer, etc.).
   
  Yes. Student Account monthly billing statements and payment history will be viewable to all parties. Information about actual payments is available to the student and the person who submitted the payment. Payment account information, such as specific bank account numbers is marked as confidential. The only party who can view this information and/or use the account to make payments is the person who stored the payment account information in their Penn.Pay profile.
   
Paying My Monthly Student Account
   
 

The University offers the following options:

  1. Online through Penn.Pay by transferring funds from your checking or savings account (U.S. financial institutions only). You schedule the payment amount and payment date.
  2. Online through Penn.Pay with an American Express® card. There is a 2.15% convenience fee assessed that will appear on your American Express® billing statement. Please note that Penn accepts American Express® cards only when paying online through Penn.Pay. Penn does not receive any compensation or portion of the convenience fee for providing AMEX as a payment option.
  3. By Mail: print a payment coupon from Penn.Pay and mail it with a check made payable to “Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania”, P.O. Box 785551, Philadelphia, PA 19178-5551. Be sure to include the full student’s name and 8-digit Penn-ID on the check.
    Notes: A payment coupon must be included with your check. Do not send payment to the P.O.Box by way of FedEx, UPS, DHL or Emory.
  4. Wire Transfer: Transfer funds to:
    Wachovia Bank N.A., ABA #031201467, PHILADELPHIA, PA
    For credit to: University of Pennsylvania SFS
    Account Number 2000018692712
    Reference: Line 1: Full Student Name and 8 digit Penn-ID
    Line 2: Social Security Number (last 4 digits only) or University assigned number
    Line 3: STUDENT PAYMENT
    (All three reference lines must be completed)
    Swift code (if your bank requests it) is PNBPUS33
    Wire Transfer Fee Assessment: When a wire transfer is initiated, your originating bank can directly wire the funds to Wachovia Bank. You may be assessed a fee by your bank. If your bank uses an intermediary bank (usually a New York Bank), the intermediary bank may also assess a fee (approx. $10-$30) which is your responsibility to pay.
  5. In Person: print a payment coupon from Penn.Pay and bring it, along with a check and your PennCard, to the Cashier’s Office in the Franklin Building lobby at 3451 Walnut St. Be sure to include the student’s full name and 8-digit Penn-ID on the check.
   
  If you wish to do so, you may; however it is entirely up to you or the other payer. Please note that Penn.Pay only accepts checking or savings accounts from U.S. financial institutions.
   
  Yes – the University of Pennsylvania accepts American Express® credit cards for student account payments.  A 2.15% convenience fee will be assessed and will appear on your American Express® card statement. American Express® card payments are accepted only when paying via Penn.Pay. American Express® card information will not be stored in Penn.Pay; cardholder information must be entered each time a payment is made with an American Express® card. Penn does not receive any compensation or portion of the convenience fee for providing AMEX as a payment option. You must pay by check if you are mailing your payment or paying in person at the Cashier’s Office.
   
  No, there is no fee when you use an approved U.S. checking or savings account to pay. However, if you use an American Express® card, a 2.15% convenience fee will be assessed. Penn does not receive any compensation or portion of the convenience fee for providing AMEX as a payment option.
   
 

Your student account billing statements will still be available to you on Penn.Pay. To pay your bill:

  1. Online through Penn.Pay with an American Express® card. There is a 2.15% convenience fee assessed if you choose this option. Please note that Penn accepts American Express® cards only when paying online through Penn.Pay. Penn does not receive any compensation or portion of the convenience fee for providing AMEX as a payment option.
  2. By Mail: print a payment coupon from Penn.Pay and mail it with a check made payable to “Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania”, P.O. Box 785551, Philadelphia, PA 19178-5551. Be sure to include the full student’s name and 8-digit Penn-ID on the check.
    Notes: A payment coupon must be included with your check.
    Do not send payment to the P.O.Box by way of FedEx, UPS, DHL or Emory.
  3. Wire Transfer: Transfer funds to:
    Wachovia Bank N.A., ABA #031201467, PHILADELPHIA, PA
    For credit to: University of Pennsylvania SFS
    Account Number 2000018692712
    Reference: Line 1: Full Student Name and 8 digit Penn-ID
    Line 2: Social Security Number (last 4 digits only) or University assigned number
    Line 3: STUDENT PAYMENT
    (All three reference lines must be completed)
    Swift code (if your bank requests it) is PNBPUS33
    Wire Transfer Fee Assessment: When a wire transfer is initiated, your originating bank can directly wire the funds to Wachovia Bank. You may be assessed a fee by your bank. If your bank uses an intermediary bank (usually a New York Bank), the intermediary bank may also assess a fee (approx. $10-$30) which is your responsibility to pay.
  4. In Person: print a payment coupon from Penn.Pay and present it with a check to the Cashier’s Office, in the Franklin Building lobby at 3451 Walnut Street.
   
  Actually, all of your payments should appear on Penn.Pay, but only the payments made online will appear on the Payment History screen. All other payments, such as any made by check, wire transfer or at the Cashier's Office, will appear on the monthly statement itself, since these are payments made in methods other than the Penn.Pay system. All payments made to the student account up to and including the statement date will appear directly on that statement itself. For a real-time view of the student account, the student may view their account via PennInTouch, taking care to click on the button marked “New activity for next billing statement”. This will allow the student to view any adjustments (charges or credits/payments) made since the last statement date.
   
  You may make payments right away. Please note that Penn.Pay only accepts U.S. checking or savings accounts. Payments can also be made immediately with an American Express® card; there is a 2.15% convenience fee assessed if you choose this option. Penn does not receive any compensation or portion of the convenience fee for providing AMEX as a payment option.
   
User Information
   
  The PennCard is the University’s official ID card for members of the Penn community. The number on your PennCard is unique and consists of three parts: xxxxxx xxxxxxxx xx. Your Penn ID is the middle 8 digits, and Penn.Pay will only accept the middle 8 digits. Note to Incoming Students: If you have not yet received your Penn-ID, log on to the Penn Portal and then click on PennInTouch. From there, select the PennCard button to obtain your Penn-ID.
   
  Contact the appropriate originating department (ORIGIN) displayed next to the specific item on your statement.
   
  Bank account information can only be accessed by the specific payer who has entered those payment accounts in their profile. Information about actual payments is available to the student and the owner of the account; the account information is marked as confidential and only the owner of the account can make payments using that account. For invited other payers, please be sure to keep your Penn.Pay User Name and Password confidential and in a safe place for reference.
   
 

Like any other ACH (Automated Clearinghouse) transaction, Penn.Pay payments take up to two business days (48 hours) to settle. So, for example, if you submitted a payment on 02/14/07 at noon, the payment would be grouped into a file by the Penn.Pay software vendor. That file is then presented to our processing bank, Wachovia. Then Wachovia would submit the file through the Federal Reserve and then present the transaction to the originating bank(s) tied to the payment file. These ACH transactions are grouped together and are subject to cut-off times for submission. All of the above, even though it happens electronically, does take time to progress through all of the steps. Additionally, some banks are quicker in settling ACH transactions than others. Most likely that particular payment, even though it was submitted on 02/14/07, will not be reflected as withdrawn from your bank account until 02/16/07.

Or, another way to think about it is to compare it to your paycheck being directly deposited into your bank account. Even though your direct deposit advice might be dated 02/14/07, your bank cannot usually guarantee the funds to be available until the next business day, which could be 02/15/07 or possibly even 02/16/07.

   
  If your payment is successful, then you should see the payment reflected on your student account within two business days of the date listed on the payment. Again, this is an ACH transaction, and can take up to two business days to settle, depending on the time of the submission and the rapidity of the originating bank’s processing.
   
  Contact Student Financial Services by email at sfsmail@sfs.upenn.edu or phone 215-898-1988.
   
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