Aniyah Richardson, a junior, was sad to hear that Temple will be phasing out Diamond Dollars this May. She has chosen not to make the transition to another payment just yet.
“I’m pretty sad that they’re taking Diamond Dollars away. Without it you have to spend your actual money on the food you can’t pay for with meal swipes,” she said.
On January 24, Temple announced their plan to phase out the campus-based debit card system, Diamond Dollars, at the end of the spring semester.
“Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Wing Stop. We can get all of that with meal swipes, but no one wants that every day. I will have to spend money when they take it away and I don’t want that,” Aniyah said.
The 25-year run of Diamond Dollars will officially end on May 15. Any remaining balance will be credited to student’s accounts or returned via direct deposit.
Students can use alternative payment methods on campus such as credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, and Venmo.
Kendra Afriyie, a junior, has been using Diamond Dollars since her freshman year. She is upset that Temple will no longer have a campus-based payment method.
“Now we have to use another meal swipe when it’s not necessary, so I’m definitely disappointed that they’re taking Diamond Dollars away,” she said.
Some of the departments that exclusively accepted Diamond Dollars, such as Owl Tech and Temple Thrift, will introduce other forms of payment on or before May 15.
Other students who never used Diamond Dollars are not affected by the change.
“Personally, it doesn’t really affect me much in my day-to-day life,” said Jake Lavin, sophomore advertising major.
Diamond Dollars were introduced in 1999 to give students an alternative payment method to cash. The popularity of the program has decreased over time.
“Here at Richie’s for a long time I was a big fan of Diamond Dollars. It was a good thing to be a part of the university. I think it was a great idea,” said Richie Jr., the owner of Richie’s Café.
Diamond Dollars is no longer students preferred payment option, according to the university’s website. Since students have returned to campus after the pandemic, Diamond Dollars has only accounted for 5% of sales in local businesses.
“I’m kinda sad for it to go, but at the same time it’s easier to use one payment option than keep going with cash, diamond dollars, card, you know different things. We’ll see how it goes, but you know farewell Diamond Dollars,” Richie said.
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