• What is Cardinal Pay?

  Cardinal Pay is Catholic University's system for electronic billing, online payments, payment plan enrollment, and direct deposit of refunds.

• What is e-billing?

  All student account billing is completed electronically. In this process students and their Authorized Users receive email notifications that their statements are available for viewing on-line. The online statements can be printed by selecting the Print Term Statement link for each term.

When are statements generated?

• I am trying to access Cardinal Pay after logging into Cardinal Students, but nothing happens when I click Cardinal Pay.

  Pop-up blockers must be disabled in order for Cardinal Pay to load properly. If your pop-up blocker is disabled and you are still having problems accessing the site via the link in Cardinal Students, please contact Technology Services at techsupport@cua.edu  or 202-319-4357.

• I am a student, but I don't think that I have a Catholic University email account; if I do, I don't know what it is or how to use it.

  All students are issued an e-mail account by the University. If you do not know your e-mail address or if you need help setting up and using your Catholic University email, please contact Technology Services at techsupport@cua.edu or 202-319-4357.

• I never use my Catholic University email account because I have my own personal email account. Can the University send notifications to my personal email account instead?

  The Catholic University email account is the University's official means of communication with students. Students can set their Catholic University email to forward to other accounts. If you need more help, please contact the Technology Services at techsupport@cua.edu or 202-319-4357. You may also add a mobile number to your Cardinal Pay account to receive text/SMS notifications if you wish.  You can do so by selecting Actions > Manage Notifications in Cardinal Pay.

• I am an Authorized User and I have forgotten my Cardinal Pay password; how can I get a new one?

  If you forget your password, go to the Authorized User Cardinal Pay login page and click Forgot Password. 

• When are payments due?

  The due date is the Friday before the start of each semester. Any charges billed after that date are due upon receipt although they will not be subject to late fees or interest assessments until they have been outstanding for at least 30 days.

  I am sponsored by a diocese/religious community/employer/embassy, etc. to pay all or part of my bill; should I set them up as an Authorized User in Cardinal Pay?

  This depends on whether your sponsor requires a custom bill where they are listed as the entity being billed. 

  If your sponsor can remit payment using your student account statement then you should set them up as an Authorized User and they can remit payment in Cardinal Pay.  Alternately, they can mail/wire payment using a pdf statement generated in Cardinal Pay.

  If your sponsor requires a custom billing statement where the organization, and not the student, is listed as the entity being billed, then you should should not set up the sponsors as Authorized User in Cardinal Pay.  Instead, follow the instructions here.
  
  

  How does a parent, guardian, or sponsor get set up as an Authorized User?

  Students who wish to grant other individuals access to their account information (including notification of bills) must establish those individuals as Authorized Users in Cardinal Pay. The university is unable to discuss or disclose account information to any person other than the student unless the student has established that individual(s) as an Authorized User on his or her account. An Authorized User account should be established for each individual that a student wishes to have access to his or her account information.
  
  Authorized User will have with their own login name and password for the Cardinal Pay website where they can access statements and make online payments. Information on how to establish an Authorized Payer on a student's account can be found here.

  The person responsible for my account doesn't have a computer. How do they get a bill?

  The student is ultimately responsible for ensuring that their bill gets paid. The student can print out the PDF version of the online bill and provide it to whoever is responsible for the account.

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• Do I have to pay the bill online?

  Only payments being made by e-check from a checking or savings account or by credit or debit card must be made online in Cardinal Pay. Payments in the form of personal check, cashier's check, money order, and wire continue to be accepted outside of Cardinal Pay.

  If you wish to mail your payment, you can print out your statement and mail it with your payment to the address listed at the top of the statement: The Catholic University of America, Office of Enrollment Services, 620 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20064.  Check payments can also be brought directly to the Office of Enrollment Services in W200 Fr. O'Connell Hall.
  
  Please note that if you are using a debit card to pay online, your card may have a daily transaction limit. If you are using a debit card to make a payment and the transaction is not successful, please contact the financial institution which issued the debit card.

• Is there a charge for making a payment online?

  There is no charge for making an e-check payment.
  
  A service charge in the amount of 2.75% of the payment amount is assessed for credit or debit card transactions by the processor; this is clearly displayed at the time of the online transaction. The University receives only the amount being paid toward the student's account; it does not receive the service charge.
  
  Please note that any refund of a credit or debit card payment does not refund the service charge.

• What credit and debit cards are accepted in Cardinal Pay?

  Our processor accepts American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.

• If I want to pay with a credit or debit card, why am I being assessed a service charge?

  The fee charged to the cardholder is assessed by the credit card company.

• Can I make an e-check payment from any kind of checking or savings account?

  Some checking accounts, such as investment accounts, money market accounts, home equity loans, and HELOCs (home equity line of credit) do not allow online (ACH) payments, such as the Cardinal Pay e-check payment option. Please check with the financial institution which holds the account to find out if it allows an online (ACH) payment before you do the payment transaction.

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• My e-check payment was returned by my financial institution. Can you tell me why?

  While the online payment process validates the routing number, it does not validate the account number or the funds available status of the account. The reasons vary, but most returned e-check transactions seem to be due to incorrect entry of the account number in the on-line payment system. The rest seem to be due to insufficient funds in the bank account. The University has no information about the reason for a transaction not clearing the customer's bank account, which is why we refer the parent or student to their financial institution.

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• Who can see the student's history of payments in Cardinal Pay?

  The student can see all of the payments made on his or her account in Cardinal Pay. Authorized Users can see only their own payment transactions. Any Authorized User can see the entire real-time account for the term, including all payments, in Cardinal Pay; they just can't identify who made what payments.

• When will a payment made in Cardinal Pay be reflected on the student's Catholic University account?

  Payments are usually posted immediately, but always within 24 business hours, to the student's account.

• I am already on direct deposit for my paycheck; does my student refund direct deposit go through Payroll?

  Student refund direct deposits are processed through Cardinal Pay, not through Payroll direct deposit. You need to enroll in direct deposit for your refund in Cardinal Pay.