Southeast Missouri State University will accept credit cards for online payments with an additional fee starting May 1.

To offset the university's cost associated with online credit card transaction, the Board of Regents approved a 2.5 percent service fee for all credit card transitions, including online, on the phone and in person, according to Vice President of Finance and Administration Kathy Mangels.

"Right now for the other types of payments that we will take by credit card, the university been incurring that expense on behalf of everyone, and that has become very expensive on its own," Mangels said. "Part of the reason we've never gone to the web is the volume. We just couldn't afford it as a university."

Mangels added that the service fee was lower than most other universities in Missouri, where the fee is at 2.75 percent. Southeast also placed a $50 per transaction maximum service fee.

"If you're paying $4,000, 2.5 percent would be $100," Mangels said. "What the board said was that if somebody's only option of how to pay that bill was with a credit card, they're already going to be hit with a lot of interest by the credit card company. We're going to put a max on that fee at $50 and the university will continue to pick up the rest."

Southeast will pay for the remaining credit card fees through savings, but are estimated to save approximately $275,000 annually due to the service fee.

"It's a new offering, as far as type of payment," Mangels said. "People just need to be aware that there will be that charge, that service fee that then pays the expense to the credit card company. And they will be notified of that before they make a payment."

Mangels added that the university wanted to add this as another option for payment where, much like the current payment plan, students can weigh their own financial needs.

"You've always had the ability to pay by check on the web," Mangels said. "Always able to do that and there's no cost and will continue to have no cost. But with some changes now, we can actually take credit cards on the web."

Credit card acceptance and service fee charges will go into effect May 1, so it will not affect those who have already set up their payment plan for the current semester and to have time to let students know about the additional service fee in advance.