• Washington Post, Tuesday, October 5, 2010 10:46 AM

Debit cards are beginning to replace the formerly ubiquitous credit cards on college campuses across the country, Ylan Q. Mui reports, because they are not subject to the same sweeping federal regulations that took effect earlier this year. But some students complain that "loan cards" -- so called because they draw on their student loans -- come with high fees and have organized protests against them.

In fact, writes Mui, the complaints echo the outcry over the marketing techniques and extra fees employed by credit card companies that prompted Congress to pass the credit reforms in the first place. Some colleges have received a cut of the fees generated by the cards. But college officials say loan cards make life easier for both students and administrators.

"Sometimes people are looking for evil intent where there is none," says Anne Gross, legislative affairs director for the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

Read the whole story at Washington Post »