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ECCOgen, THE Prepaid Cashless Campus Solution Enters Chicago Market as Gordon Tech High School Comes On.
SAN FRANCISCO (March 16, 2009) – ECCOgen announced today its ECCOgen Campus Card – a unique, prepaid program that gives students a versatile and secure means to conduct purchases on campus – signed a long term agreement with Gordon Tech High School in Chicago, Illinois. The program, which allows students to make cafeteria and other on-campus purchases without using cash, is met with a warm reception in Illinois. Several other schools including eight of the largest private schools in California have also embraced the ECCOgen Prepaid Cashless Campus program.
ECCOgen provides Gordon Tech High School an on-line portal in which parents load value onto their students account, a state of the art Point of Sale System complete with touch screens and card readers, provides installation and conducts training of the school’s food service staff; all at no cost to the school. Parents opt in with a nominal annual fee. Parents decide the precise amount of money to load onto their children’s cards, eliminating the hassle of doling out cash every day for school lunches and allowing parents control of how the money is being spent.
"We're excited about the Chicago market. There are a lot of schools that need our help! Everywhere I go, school administrators and parents immediately recognize the benefits – to the school, to the students, and to the parents – of the ECCOgen Campus Card,” said ECCOgen founder and president, Michael Ferguson. “It’s a learning tool, a budgeting tool, alleviates cafeteria line creep, and helps parents keep an eye on what their kids eat for lunch. There really is no down side, and I think that's why schools and parents are embracing the program so eagerly." A key element that makes the campus card attractive to parents is the ability for parental control with on-line tracking of purchases, allowing parents to view the food choices their children make. With childhood obesity ranking as a major concern on a national level, parents place great value on being able to monitor their children’s food purchases, ensuring that their children are making healthy and nutritious food choices while in school.
"Working with ECCOgen has been such an easy process. They installed the software and card readers and trained our entire food service staff in just a day and a half,” said Tom Gorndt, Business Manager at Bellarmine College Prep. “With the new campus card in place, we are seeing a definite increase in the efficiency of our cafeteria transactions. In the first three weeks of operation, our food sales are up 50% from the same time last year."
About ECCOgen: ECCOgen, with corporate offices in San Francisco, is a privately held company with deep experience in payment processing and consumer products. ECCOgen is a leading provider of reloadable prepaid cards for students in K-12 private schools throughout North America. For more information about the ECCOgen Campus Card, please visit www.eccocard.com or call (415) 353-5371.
About Gordon Tech High School: During the course of 50 years, Gordon Tech has addressed the needs of young people preparing for higher education and a career of their choice. Gordon Tech High School offers a rigorous and varied college preparatory curriculum. With more than eighty courses, advanced placement offerings and a strong tutoring / support program, Gordon Tech can lay the groundwork for your success. Gordon Tech High School offers 16 sports for both boys and girls. Gordon is a member of the IHSA, the Chicago Catholic League for boys, and the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC). Our athletic teams, student-athletes, as well as coaches have an illustrious history of success both on and off the playing field.
Media contacts: Alyssa Reehl, ECCOgen, (415) 353-5371
