Dec. 3 2025 | Abbi Duhart | News Editor
Western’s business office has announced that they will be coming out with a new payment system starting in December. The current payment system was created by Western with help from U.S. Bank so that it would work well with the Portal system already in place. The business office was already working on changes, such as optimizing a one-point payment system — meaning students only need to go to one place to pay rather than the seven different cashier options currently — and adding credit card machines at front windows for payments. Due to the disappearance of Wolf Web though, they have additional upcoming changes to the online payment system itself they’re working on. By the end of December, Wolf Web will be completely integrated into the new Portal applet, Experience. Since Western’s payment system was through Wolf Web, it will also transition.
This process will be split into rollouts, all of which will be completed by May 2026. The first rollout will start in the second week of December to ensure students can make payments once Wolf Web disappears. This rollout introduces Transact, and will include the basics that are needed for students: a place to pay bills and student SS9 pages — student profile pages — where students can see their account balance and receipt numbers after payments, as well as an account summary and tax notifications. Their SS9 account allows them to view all statements and tax forms in one place.
During this first rollout, students can also send invites to parents or guardians. After a student sends an invite, their parental figure can open the invite, where they will see the student’s name and a link that takes them to a page where they can see both the student’s account and their account. Under their account, they can check account balances and make payments on their student’s tuition. They can also see if there is a pending balance, in case the student made a payment earlier.
When a payment is made under Transact, the system will list the remaining balance. Payments can be made with Apple Pay, a credit or debit card or an ACH. Students and parents should keep in mind that card payments will still have a small fee; the system will alert them to check the fee amount before paying.
During the second rollout, the business office will be working to offer payment plans. The type of payment plan that will be offered will be a three-month plan in which students can split their tuition payments into smaller increments once a month for three months. Students can also have the option to set up an auto payment at the beginning, so they don’t have to go back to manually pay during the payment plan.
The business office also hopes to set up 529 plans during the second or third rollout, meaning students can make electronic payments from a college savings account.
During later rollouts, the business office is looking to see if they can create stores through the financial page in Experience. This would mean that if a campus organization were to sell tickets or anything else, students could purchase them straight from their Portal, meaning they have an option to pay other than cash.
There aren’t any clear dates for what’s to come in the second and third rollouts of the new system, but Western’s business office assured that everything they are planning will be in place by May of next year.
Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu
