Make the most of food & drink on campus

If you like saving time, earning freebies, and avoiding cash, this is the app for you. Here's the lowdown on the UPAY Rewards app:

What is UPAY Rewards?

UPAY is Leicester University’s own campus payment + loyalty system, handled by the Leicester Services Partnership. It’s how staff and students can pay for food, drink, and retail on campus using their student/staff ID or the UPAY app. No cash needed!

It lets you:

• Pay contactless (tap your student ID card), or scan a QR code in the app. 
• Top up your UPAY balance on the go.
• Earn reward points every time you spend at certain campus outlets.

Why you should use it

Here’s what makes UPAY useful, especially when you’re fresh in halls:

1. 5% back every time you spend, for every £1 you spend in participating campus outlets, you get loyalty value back via reward points. That adds up.
2. UPAY (card or app) tends to be faster than digging out cash or card at tills. If you’re running late for a lecture or just want to grab lunch quickly, this helps.
3. Plenty of offers & promotions, you’ll see special deals, discounts or promotions via the UPAY app. As a new student, these little extras help. Cheaper food, cheaper stationery, or whatever they’re offering.
4. Tracking & control - You can see your real-time UPAY and reward-point balances, see what you’ve spent, and figure out how close you are to your next reward. Helps you budget better.
5. Convenience of top-ups + guest top-ups - If you’re low on funds, you can top up via the app. Also, someone else (flatmate, parents) can top up for you via “guest top up”. Handy if your card is on another account or you’re waiting for something else.

Some details you’ll want to know

• Not all campus outlets are included: for example, O2 Academy, Pearls, SKVP are excluded from both payment via UPAY and earning/spending reward points.
• Reward points = value: Each point is worth 5p. So when you collect enough, you can spend them like cash in the eligible outlets.
• You can’t part-pay with points + cash: you must cover the full cost of the purchase with points if you choose to use them.
• Reward points really don’t have cash value outside spend at eligible campus retail/catering outlets. You can’t transfer them, but you can use them until you leave the uni.

How to get started

1. Go to upay.le.ac.uk (or download the UPAY app), and register using your University of Leicester email/password.
2. Your university ID card will auto-link with your UPAY account (takes a few minutes).
3. Top up the account with money so you have funds to spend.
4. Then, when you buy stuff in campus cafes/shops you can: Scan the QR code in the app, or Tap your student card (contactless) if it's linked.
5. Scan the QR code in the app, or
6. Tap your student card (contactless) if it's linked.
7. Keep an eye on promotions, and spend your points when you’ve saved enough. Might as well make it work for you.

 Get your money’s worth now!