Frequently Asked Questions

The digital CrimsonCard is the preferred option for IU students and employees and is provided at no cost. If a physical card is needed, the first one is provided at no cost. A $35 fee applies for replacing lost, stolen (without a valid police report or case number), or damaged physical cards.

Yes, a physical CrimsonCard can be mailed, but it requires 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.

The digital CrimsonCard can be set up on your device at no cost as an alternative to replacing a physical card. If you prefer a physical replacement, you will need to visit a CrimsonCard office.

The digital CrimsonCard can be set up on your device at no cost as an alternative to replacing a physical card. If you prefer a physical replacement, you will need to visit a CrimsonCard officeand there is a $35 replacement fee.  

*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 $35 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. 

Accepted forms of ID verification documentation include: 

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

Current online and distance learning students are eligible to set up a digital CrimsonCard at no cost. 

The digital CrimsonCard can be set up on your device in any location. Those who need or prefer a physical CrimsonCard can visit the CrimsonCard office at any IU campus. 

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

Visit the CrimsonCard Support page to view the locations and hours for each campus CrimsonCard office.

All students, faculty and staff have a CrimsonCash account.

To begin using your CrimsonCash account for payment simply make a deposit or sign up Payroll Prepay (IU full or part-time employees only).

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.

Yes, enrolled students can bill up to $1,750 in CrimsonCard deposits to their Bursar account per Bursar term. If a student's Bursar account becomes past due, if they reached the $1,750 limit or are not enrolled in the current bursar term, the option to bill CrimsonCard deposits to the bursar will no longer be available.

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. 

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 $15 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, please complete the Refund Request form (IU Login required). The $25 Closed Account Fee will be deducted from the refund (See ‘Schedule of Fees’). If you are unable to log in or have questions about the refund process, please send an email including your name and University ID number to crimacct@iu.edu.  

Effective Dec. 1, 2025, the Payroll Advance option will be discontinued.

Eligible IU employees will continue to have one Payroll Deduct option available: Payroll Prepay.

Payroll Prepay: Available to full-time and part-time employees. This option allows you to designate an amount to be taken from each paycheck and deposited into your CrimsonCash account. Funds can then be used anywhere CrimsonCard is accepted as payment.

No, the cardholder cannot permit anyone else to use the CrimsonCard or the associated CrimsonAccounts that was issued to the Cardholder.

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, you 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 $15 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 $25 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.

You can simply take no action and let the $15 monthly fee deplete your balance until it is zero (0). Once this happens, the account will be closed automatically and no further fees or charges will be assessed.

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. 

An Indiana University department must request/sponsor a CrimsonCard on behalf of the affiliate by completing the Request an Affiliate Card form.

An affiliate card costs $35 and can be paid through internal university billing, external billing to the affiliate's organization, or paid for by the affiliate using a debit/credit card.

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.