Note: Your Gopher GOLD account cannot go negative. Once your account reaches $0.00, any inactivity fees will stop and you will not be charged further. Full information in sections 7 and 8 below.
Overview
By using the Gopher GOLD Program (the “Program”), you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions. The Program is an online, prepaid debit account used for purchases at participating locations using the U Card or a Gopher GOLD card issued by the U Card Office. Gopher GOLD is a trademark and program of Regents of the University of Minnesota (the “University”), through its U Card Office. These Gopher GOLD Account Holder Terms and Conditions constitute enforceable contractual obligations between the card holder and the University.
Gopher GOLD Accounts are administered by the U Card Office located in Room G22, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
- Gopher GOLD funds are not refundable except when the account is closed in accordance with Section IX.
- Declining balance programs operated on other University of Minnesota system campuses are separate programs and transferring funds is not allowed. Balances must be used on the designated campus where the funds were originally established by the card holder or received through promotions.
- Interest will not accrue on account balances.
- Gopher GOLD funds cannot be used for the purchase of alcohol, illicit drug paraphernalia, tobacco, pornography, funding of gambling, weapons or any illegal purpose.
- Temporary cards issued to participants in programs, events or conferences held at the University will expire when the event ends. Balances are not refundable or transferable. Holders will not receive email notifications of any kind.
1. Card Type for use with Program
In most cases, the U Card will act as the access card to the Program. Persons using the Program as participants in programs and conferences held at the University will be issued temporary cards.
Anyone may purchase Gopher GOLD cards at select campus Value Ports, the locations of which can be found online or at the U Card Office in room G22 of Coffman Memorial Union. Gopher GOLD cards may be registered online.
University departments should contact the U Card Office to obtain departmental Gopher GOLD cards for department-paid purchases. Departmental Gopher GOLD cards will operate with an increasing balance and charges will be billed on a monthly basis using the department’s EFS account.
2. Cardholder Deposits
Funds may be deposited at any time up to a maximum account balance of $1,000. A Gopher GOLD Deposit Form is required for all in-person deposits to the U Card Office. Copies of the Gopher GOLD Deposit Form can be obtained from the U Card Office.
Deposits can be made:
- Online (subject to a $10 minimum) using a Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express branded credit or debit card.
- In person at the U Card Office, Coffman Memorial Union, Room G22, 300 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 using cash or credit/debit card.
- At a Value Port located on campus using cash. Locations of Value Ports are listed here.
If a deposit is deemed by the U Card Office to be fraudulent or made with a stolen credit or debit card, the account will be closed and the University of Minnesota Police Department will be notified.
The U Card Office will not accept mail-in deposits and will return any mailed deposits directly to the sender.
3. Deposits by Others
Any person may add funds to an account. However, to comply with federal and state privacy regulations, account balances and activity will be available only to cardholders and to those they give explicit access via the University’s MyU system.
4. Transactions
In most cases, funds deposited to your Gopher GOLD account post immediately. If you deposited funds and they are not credited to your account immediately, please contact the U Card Office at [email protected]. You may use your card to pay for goods and services at merchant locations that have agreed to accept Gopher GOLD value as a form of payment.
There is no limitation on the number of transactions you may make in a 24-hour period or on the amount of each transaction, as long as you have a positive balance in the account. Payment transactions that exceed the amount of your Gopher GOLD Account balance will be denied.
Cash withdrawals are not permitted from a Gopher GOLD account.
5. Receipts and Account Information
You will be offered a receipt for all transactions made at attended point-of- sale terminals. Some sales terminals will show you your remaining account balance after the transaction is processed. All transactions may be verified online.
U Card holders and visitors who have registered their card with the U Card Office may review monthly statements reflecting transactions on their U Card account online. You will receive email reminders each month to review your account balances and activity. You are responsible for reviewing your statement balances and activity for accuracy and notifying the U Card Office of any discrepancies as stated in Sections X and XI.
PLEASE NOTE: Holders of temporary cards will not receive any statement review notification.
6. Returns
Merchandise purchased using a Gopher GOLD Account and subsequently returned is subject to the return policy of the merchant. Transactions requiring refunds, reversals or voids, must be communicated by the department or campus storefront where the transaction occurred and not by the patron.
7. Account Fees
There is no fee to use your Gopher GOLD Account for a purchase transaction. There is no minimum or average daily balance charge associated with your Gopher GOLD Account.
There is a $2.50 convenience fee for each online deposit. The fee is added to the amount charged to your credit or debit card.
There is an administrative fee of $10.00 or the remaining balance, whichever is less, to close an account as stated in Section IX.
8. Inactive Accounts
An account is considered inactive if it has no activity for eighteen (18) consecutive months. If an account has been inactive for eighteen (18) consecutive months, the account will be closed and the remaining funds will be forfeited to the University.
It is the responsibility of the cardholder to maintain activity or to close the account as stated in Section IX to prevent a loss of funds. Once the amount in your account is forfeited to the University, you may not receive a refund.
PLEASE NOTE: Temporary cards issued to participants in programs, events or conferences held at the University will expire when the event ends. Balances are not refundable or transferable. Holders will not receive email notifications of any kind.
9. Closing Accounts
To close an account, a cardholder must submit a Request to Close Gopher GOLD Account form, available online, in person or by mail, or submit via email to [email protected] a request to close the account. Email requests must include first and last name, student or employee ID number, 17-digit card number, phone number, mailing address and reason for request.
Upon receipt of a Request to Close Gopher GOLD Account form or email, the U Card Office will record and remove the balance from the account. If the balance is below $10, the funds will be retained by the University as an administrative fee. If the balance is greater than $10, the funds, less a $10 administrative fee, will either be posted to a student’s University student account or refunded to non-students by check sent to the mailing address on the Request to Close Gopher GOLD Account form or email.
Funds added to a Gopher GOLD account after a request to close the account has been submitted are not subject to the refund request. Any Gopher GOLD value used between the time a request to close account form was submitted and the account value is recorded and removed will not be included in any refund.
Exceptions: Persons called to active military duty should contact One Stop, not the U Card Office. One Stop will coordinate all withdrawal activities for military personnel, including obtaining a refund of value from the Gopher GOLD Account. In the event of the death of a cardholder, a full refund of Gopher GOLD account value will be issued based on University practices.
The University may, for any reason, decide to discontinue the Gopher GOLD declining balance account program, or transfer its administration to another entity. IN such an instance, you may request a refund of any account balance remaining on the date of discontinuation or transfer your balance to the new administrator. Any funds not claimed or transferred within two years of the discontinuation will be forfeited to the University and become property of the University.
10. Lost or Stolen Cards; Unauthorized Transfers; Liability
If you believe your U Card or Gopher GOLD card has been lost or stolen, or transaction(s) have occurred without your permission, you should immediately deactivate your card online. If this is not possible, you should notify the U Card Office by calling (612) 626-9900 during regular business hours or visiting the U Card Office in Room G22, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 during regular business hours.
If you tell us within two (2) business days after you learn of a loss or theft, you can lose no more than $50 from unauthorized use. If you do NOT tell us within two (2) business days after you learn of a loss or theft, and transactions are made that would not have occurred if you had, you may be liable for up to $500. University business days include every day other than Saturday, Sunday, legal holidays, as well as other days the University is closed.
If your online Gopher GOLD account shows transactions you believe are in error, you must begin the error resolution process as set out in Section XI with the U Card Office within sixty (60) calendar days after the transaction(s) first appeared online. If you do not do so within sixty (60) calendar days, you will be liable for all charges as reported if the transactions would not have occurred had you notified the U Card Office. If a good reason kept you from reporting the erroneous transaction(s), such as a long trip or hospital stay, the time periods may be extended.
Gopher GOLD cards may be registered online. Gopher GOLD cards that have not been registered may not be deactivated, and cardholders will not receive a refund for lost or stolen unregistered Gopher GOLD cards.
If you are no longer a student or employee at the University, and you report a lost or stolen U Card, your Gopher GOLD balance may be transferred to a Gopher GOLD card or you may close your account in accordance with Section 9.
11. Error Resolution and Fraudulent Use
In case of questions about, or errors in, your Gopher GOLD Account, including fraud, please complete the form entitled Gopher GOLD Error Resolution Request online or send an email to [email protected]. You must include the following information:
- Your name, student or employee ID number (if applicable), card number, and email and mailing address;
- A description of the error or transaction you are unsure about and a clear explanation of why you believe it is an error or why you need additional information; and
- The dollar amount and date(s) of the transaction(s) in dispute.
You may also make oral inquiries by calling the U Card Office at (612) 626-9900 during regular business hours, or visit in person at Room G22, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. If your inquiry is oral, the U Card Office requires that you complete the Gopher GOLD Error Resolution Request form (see above) or submit an email to [email protected] containing the aforementioned information within ten (10) business days after your oral inquiry.
You must contact the U Card Office within sixty (60) calendar days after the first statement on which the problem or error appeared. If you do not, you may not be eligible for any refund if the transactions could have been stopped had the U Card Office been notified in time.
The U Card Office will determine whether an error occurred within ten (10) business days after we hear from you and will correct any error promptly. If we need more time, we may take up to 45 days to complete the investigation. If we decide to do this, we will credit your account within ten (10) business days for the amount you think is in error so you will have the use of the money while we complete our investigation. If we ask you to put your complaint or question in writing and we do not receive it within 10 business days, we may not credit your account.
For errors involving new accounts or point-of-sale transactions, we may take up to ninety (90) days to investigate your complaint or question. For new accounts, we may take up to twenty (20) business days to credit your account for the amount you think is in error.
We will tell you the results at the email or mailing address submitted on the Gopher GOLD Error Resolution Request form within three (3) business days of the completed investigation. If we determine that there was no error, we will send you a written explanation. You may request copies of the documents used in the investigation.
12. Insufficient Funds
Gopher GOLD Account balances will be verified prior to the completion of a transaction. Payment transactions that exceed the amount of your Gopher GOLD Account balance will be denied. In the rare event a balance cannot be verified and a purchase occurs with insufficient funds in a Gopher GOLD account, the funds owed will be deducted from your next deposit.
13. Changes in terms and conditions
The University will notify cardholders by email at least twenty-one (21) business days before the effective date of any change in terms or conditions if the change would result in increased charges or increased liability for the account holder unless an immediate change is necessary to maintain or restore the security of the system. Other terms and conditions are subject to change without notice by updating this posting. Your continued use of the Program indicates your acceptance of all revisions.
14. Disclosure of Information to Third Parties
Unless otherwise required by law, the U Card Office will disclose information to third parties about your account or the transactions you make only:
- Where it is necessary for completing transactions;
- In order to verify the existence and condition of your account for a third party, such as a merchant; or
- If you give the U Card Office your written permission.
15. Security; University Liability
The U Card or the Gopher GOLD Account card must be presented at the time of purchase and shall be the only means of accessing the participant’s account, except in the case of the Boost mobile app at dining locations, where a University login is required for payment. A merchant may request additional identification to verify that only the participant uses the account. The account holder may be required to sign a receipt for goods or services.
If the University does not properly complete a transfer to or from your account on time or in the correct amount, the University may be liable for your direct losses. However, the University will NOT be liable, for example:
- If the terminal or system was not working properly and you knew about the breakdown when you started the transfer.
- If circumstances beyond our control occurred (such as fire, flood, computer breakdown or problems with a telephone line) prevented the transfer despite our reasonable precautions.
16. Governing Law; Jurisdiction and Venue; Limitation of Actions
These terms and conditions shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota, excluding any conflicts of laws statutes. You agree that any legal action or proceeding between the University and you arising out of or relating to these terms and conditions or the Program shall be brought exclusively in the courts of the State of Minnesota and you hereby consent to the subject matter and personal jurisdiction of such courts. Any cause of action or claim you may have with respect to these terms and conditions or the Program must be brought within one year after the claim or cause of action arises or it shall be barred.
17. Privacy Statement
Personal information collected for the Gopher GOLD account, including name, University ID#, transaction amounts, locations, and times, address, phone number, email, and photograph will be used only (i) for university purposes, (ii) when necessary to complete a transaction, (iii) as may be required to complete with legal requirements, or (iv) with your permission.
Effective March 1, 2025
U Card Office
G22 Coffman Memorial Union
300 Washington Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 626-9900
[email protected]