Students will soon be heading back to university and college campuses with a lot on their minds – including expenses. Along with tuition and textbook costs, there are ongoing expenses to contend with like monthly rent or housing payments, internet and hydro bills, as well as food and entertainment. No wonder students and parents are always looking for the most convenient and secure methods to exchange money between roommates, friends, and family.

Online electronic money transfers—like Interac e-Transfer—are an ideal solution, say advisors in this field. Rather than pulling out a cheque book or exchanging cash, the funds are exchanged instantly—without sharing any financial information—and recipients receive notification of the transfer via email or text message. Recipients must answer a secret question before the funds will be deposited into their account.

Here are a few ways that electronic money transfer services can make life easier for both parents and students this fall:

• Do you need to pay rent monthly? Instead of providing your landlord with post-dated cheques, send the money electronically. As the sender, you’ll receive a notification when your landlord accepts the transfer, so you’ll know your rent was paid.

• Are you sharing a house with your friends? Instead of exchanging cash or writing a cheque for household expenses like hydro, cable or household groceries, save the trip to the bank and simply email your share of the money to your housemates.

• Do you have a son or daughter living away from home? Rest assured you can send money whenever it’s needed—instantly. There is no need to worry if that last cheque arrived in time to pay rent or buy food.

• Do you need to pay a friend back for gas or your portion of the pizza you split last night? Rather than going to the bank, use your mobile phone to send money immediately—and securely.

More information is available online at www.interac.ca.

(NC)