Hi there,

Thanks very much for this.

I just want to clarify that The Shop is run by the Students’ Union, which is a charity and a separate organisation to the University. All surplus from The Shop, and other trading areas such as The Stags’, The Café, etc is used to support student facing campaigns and events, and also supports the funding of our 340 clubs and societies.

In terms of the 15p card charge that you mention, the Union has to pay the card payments processing company on every transaction made. For transactions above £5 this is easier to absorb into our own costs, however if we chose to absorb it on transactions under £5, it is estimated that this would be a hit of around £20,000 each year, which would be £20,000 less that we would be able to put into student projects and student groups. This decision was taken by Trustee Board two years ago owing to the operational nature of the matter, and owing to the current overall financial position of the Union it is highly unlikely that the Board will change its’ view any time soon. There are however two cashpoints within the vicinity of the Union. One directly outside the shop, and the other next to the microwaves in the main Union building.

I hope that is helpful!

Many thanks, Alex Hovden – Union President.