If you like to earn money by spending money, a new online payment system for BYU-Idaho may be what you’re looking for.

The new E-Check system allows students to make payments by electronically debiting a checking or savings account. Helpful to those who do pay online, walking your check to the Cashier’s Office can now be a thing of the past.

“Another advantage is that they don’t have to come to the Cashier’s Office,” said Lee Workman, director of accounting at BYU-I.

“And when we implement the direct deposit, they won’t have to come to receive their money — they will be able to do it online,” he continued.

The E-Check system will also help keep BYU-I education costs down by allowing the school to avoid the transaction fee applied when students use a debit or credit car.

“One major reason we started the E-Check system is that it saves the school a lot of money,” Workman said.

Until Jan. 18, students who used the E-Check system received $5 in I-Card money for payments of at least $500 and those who paid more received $10 or $15. The incentive program is currently being re-evaluated to find out if it should be repeated or not.

“We are thinking about re-instating the incentive program,” Workman said.

“But the decision hasn’t been made yet, and it will only be for new students,” he added.

Students like Yueng Kim, a sophomore from South Seoul Korea, agree that the new program is very beneficial.

“I think the [E-Check system] is really good. It will help students save time.”

As time is generally hard to come by, the new E-Check system will help students to become more proficient by making payments and transactions simpler.

“Students who do not have a debit card can pay with a check so it is more convenient for them, and they can make a payment to personal deposit, which you can’t do with a credit card,” Workman said.

Students are not the only ones who see potential benefits to the new program.

“If it saves money and can keep tuition cost down, like Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, it makes the business more competitive,” said Susan Grover, a professor of English at BYU-I.