Frequently Asked Questions

The initial CrimsonCard for new Indiana University employees and students will be provided at no cost to the cardholder. 

Yes. If you have never had a Crimsoncard your initial card can be mailed to you. This can be done by uploading a photo and ID verification documentation.

Please note that CrimsonCards can only be mailed to addresses within the United States. Those with an international address can request a no-photo CrimsonCard be mailed to them.

Those in need of a replacement CrimsonCard must visit a CrimsonCard office.

If your CrimsonCard is lost, stolen* or visibly damaged a $25 replacement fee will be assessed.

*If your CrimsonCard is stolen, call (317) 274-0400 or deactivate it online for safety. A no-cost replacement card will be provided if you present an official police report/case number. Without this, there is a $25 fee, but you can get a refund of that fee by submitting the report/case number within 14 days at any CrimsonCard Office, or by emailing it to crimsoncard@iu.edu including your username and university ID.

For stolen CrimsonCards, a replacement card will be given at no cost if the cardholder provides an official police report (a case number will not suffice). 

Accepted forms of ID verification documentation include: 

• Driver's License
• Passport
• Military ID
• State ID
• High School ID

Please note: You must be registered for at least one credit hour in the current or upcoming term to be eligible for a CrimsonCard.

If your mailing address is within the United States you can upload a photo and documentation verifying your identity online and can choose to have your CrimsonCard mailed directly to you.

If you have an international mailing address OR are unable or unwilling to provide identity documentation online, you are eligible to have a no-photo CrimsonCard (a CrimsonCard without your picture) mailed directly to you.

To request a no-photo CrimsonCard complete the online Request Form. Your no-photo CrimsonCard will be mailed out approximately 2-3 weeks after your initial request. 

Accepted forms of payment include credit/debit card, Apple or Android pay and bursar billing for eligible students.

All students, faculty and staff have a CrimsonCash account.

To begin using your CrimsonCash account for payment simply make a deposit or sign up for the Payroll Advance (IU full-time employees only) and/or Payroll Prepaid (IU full or part-time employees only) option(s).

There are a variety of ways to make a deposit to your CrimsonCash account. Visit the Making a Deposit page to learn about each option.

Students have the option to bill up to $1,750 per bursar term to their bursar account. If you are unable to bill a deposit to your bursar below are possible reasons why:

1. You have already reached the $1,750 limit per bursar term.
2. Your bursar account is past due. 
3. You are not registered for classes in the current bursar term. A bursar term is defined as a set of dates in which charges can be made to your bursar account for a particular semester. The bursar term ends just after the final bill for the semester is processed. 

Example: It is April 9, 2021, and you are currently enrolled in classes for the Spring term but not the Summer term. You try to bill a deposit to your bursar account and are denied. The reason for the denial is because, on March 17, 2021, the bursar term for the Spring semester ended and the bursar term for the Summer semester began. Because you are not registered for Summer classes, you are not able to bill a CrimsonCard deposit to the Summer bursar term.

Yes, anyone can make a deposit to a student's CrimsonCash account - parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends. Below are the steps:

1. Click on the Make a Deposit button found on the homepage of crimsoncard.iu.edu
2.  Enter the student's 10-digit University ID number and either the student's last name or IU username.
3. Type in the amount to be deposited and your email address
4. Read and accept the Terms and Conditions 
5. Click Submit
6. Click the Proceed to Pay button
7. Complete the required information on the IU FlexPay site. 
8. Click Pay Now and you are done! The funds are instantly in the student's CrimsonCash account. 

CrimsonCash can be used as payment both on and off campus at IU campuses statewide. Visit Who Accepts CrimsonCard for a complete list of participating vendors. 

Click the Manage Your ID Card button found on the home page of crimsoncard.iu.edu and log in with your username and passphrase. You can then click on My Accounts located in the top menu bar. From here you will be able to see your balance(s) and transaction history.

Funds in your CrimsonCash account roll over from semester to semester, year to year. 

Please note, if your CrimsonCash account enters a dormant status, meaning the funds in the account have not been used for a period of 18 months, a $10 dormant account fee will be assessed to your account balance on the 27th of each month until your balance reaches zero ($0) or thirty-six (36) months passes. Additional information on the dormant account fee can be found in the Terms and Conditions. 

If you believe there is a discrepancy with your transaction, you should address the discrepancy with the vendor. If you are unable to resolve the potential error with the vendor send an email to cardops@iu.edu and the CrimsonCard team will work with you and the vendor to resolve the issue.

To request a refund of your CrimsonCash account, simply complete the Request for Refund form (IU login required). If you are unable to access the online form, send an email to crimacct@iu.edu from your University email address requesting the closure of your account and the refund of the remaining balance. A $15 Closed Account Fee will be deducted from your balance prior to refunding.

Yes, eligible IU employees have two Payroll Deduct options to choose from. An employee can opt-in to one or both programs by logging in to their CrimsonCard account online at crimsoncard.iu.edu and clicking on the 'My Accounts' tab.

Payroll Advance is available to eligible full-time IU employees only. This option allows monthly paid employees to spend up to $200 using their CrimsonCard and biweekly paid employees up to $100 per cycle.

At the end of each cycle (a cycle mimics closely but not exactly the pay period cycle), purchases made are submitted to payroll and deducted from the employee's next paycheck.

Prepaid Deduct allows full-time and part-time employees to designate an amount to be taken from each paycheck and deposited into the CrimsonCash account. Funds can then be used anywhere CrimsonCard is accepted as payment.

The CrimsonCard may NOT be used for purchasing alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, e-cigarettes, lottery tickets, gift cards, money orders or travelers’ checks.

Deactivate your CrimsonCard immediately if it is lost or stolen. Deactivation can be done at any time by visiting crimsoncard.iu.edu, clicking on 'Manage My ID Card', then 'My ID Card' and lastly on the 'Deactivate' button. If your CrimsonCard is found, you can simply reactivate it by following the same steps as above and clicking on 'Active'.

CrimsonCard is the official university identification card that can have spending accounts associated with it for use of purchases both on and off campus-- see CrimsonCash Account for more information. The balance exists due to a deposit made to your CrimsonCash account. 

A deposit was made to your CrimsonCash account during your time at IU so that you could make purchases with your CrimsonCard. The funds that were deposited into your CrimsonCash account have not been used for the last 18 months - making it dormant (or inactive). 

To make your CrimsonCash account active or no longer dormant, you simply need to make a purchase using your CrimsonCash or make a deposit. Either action will make your CrimsonCash account active.

To keep your CrimsonCash account active or not dormant, you need to use your CrimsonCash to make a purchase OR make a deposit to your CrimsonCash account at least once every 18 months.

To avoid being charged the dormant account fee, simply reactivate your account by using your CrimsonCash for payment anywhere CrimsonCard is accepted before the 27^th of the month. Alternatively, you can also make a deposit to reactivate your account.

To print on campus, swipe your CrimsonCard, which must have a print allotment with sufficient funds. The print allotment is a specific fund provided by the University solely for printing expenses.

Please note that funds in your CrimsonCash account cannot be used for printing. To prevent your CrimsonCash account from becoming dormant, use the funds regularly at non-printing locations.

The $10 monthly dormant account fee will be assessed to your CrimsonCash account until one of two scenarios happens:

1. Your CrimsonCash account balance is depleted. Once your balance is $0 your account will be closed and no other fees will be assessed. 

OR

2. If your account remains inactive for longer than thirty (36) months and a positive balance remains in one or more of the CrimsonAccounts, any such balance will be forfeited to the University and your accounts will be closed.

If you don’t plan on using the card again, you can request the balance be refunded (IU login required). A $15 fee will be deducted from the balance. If you are unable to access the online form, send an email to crimacct@iu.edu from your University email address requesting the closure of your account and the refund of the remaining balance. If you fail to do this within 36 months of the account being dormant, the remaining balance will be forfeited to the University.

An affiliate is a person who needs a CrimsonCard to access campus facilities and/or services but is not a currently registered student or employee of Indiana University.

If you’re not sure of an individual’s status please contact us at crimsoncard@iu.edu. 

Currently a separate request must be submitted for each individual in need of an affiliate card.If generic access cards are needed, please contact the CrimsonCard operations team at cardops@iu.edu. 

Yes, as long as they are sponsored by a full time University employee and their affiliate request has been approved. 

A malfunctioning or defective card issued within the last calendar year can be brought to the office and exchanged at no cost. Email verification or a new affiliate form may be requested for cards older than one year. A new affiliate request must be submitted to replace a lost card. Use the optional notes field to let the office know the card is a replacement.

The affiliate request form can only be accessed by full time Indiana University employees via IU login. Part time employees, students, and other affiliates will not be able to view or complete the form. If you are attempting to submit an affiliate request but are unable to access the form please contact the CrimsonCard operations team at cardops@iu.edu

Information about printing at IU can be found by visiting the IU Knowledge Base.

The CrimsonCard Office does not manage or assign access at IU. A building coordinator is assigned to each building at IU and they are responsible for assigning access within their building(s). If your access is not working, contact the building coordinator to ensure that access has been assigned to your CrimsonCard.