Paypal announced its partnership agreement with the Big ten and Big 12 conferences that will enable payments from universities to student athletes on Thursday. File Photo by Andrew Gombert/EPA
June 26 (UPI) — PayPal on Thursday announced a partnership agreement with the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences on Thursday, which will enable payments from universities to student-athletes.
PayPal said in a press release that the new model “enables athletic departments to “seamlessly dispense payments through PayPal, ensuring a secure, efficient, and transparent way to distribute funds to payees.”
“From receiving institutional payments to making everyday purchases, we’re helping student-athletes, families, and schools engage in new ways that are modern, secure, and built for the future,” President and CEO of PayPal Alex Chriss said.
Under the deal, the two major college athletic conferences will exclusively make payments to student-athletes through PayPal.
PayPal said the rollout of payments from the college is expected to begin this summer as a court settlement in the House v. NCAA case, which allows schools to pay student-athletes, is set to take effect on July 1.
The settlement allowed schools to pay up to $20.5 million to current athletes over the next year, and $2.8 billion to former players across the NCAA.
“We look forward to partnering with PayPal to ensure a secure, rapid and reliable way for student-athletes to receive institutional payments as we welcome in this new era in college athletics,” said Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti.
“We are thrilled to enter into this landmark partnership with PayPal and Venmo,” said Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. “As we embark on a new era of college athletics, aligning with a global leader like PayPal will unlock a wealth of opportunities for the Big 12. This partnership will also empower our student-athletes to receive payments through a secure, trusted platform they already know and use.”
Venmo will also be a part of this partnership; the company will allow students to use Venmo at college bookstores and for items such as tickets, concessions, and merchandise.
Venmo is also introducing a new Debit MasterCard for purchases on campus.