More than 5,300 students from the University of Groningen received a “Tikkie” request of no less than 2,000 euros this week. Error? No, it’s a test from the university.
“Tikkie” comes from the word “Tikken” (to touch): with one touch in the app, you can fulfil a payment request. After receiving a Tikkie from the university, students can pay their tuition fees from their phone.
According to Groningen television station RTV Noord, the university started testing out sending Tikkies for tuition fees last year, and it turned out to be a success.
Jorien Bakker, a spokesperson for the RUG, says that students are not required to pay via Tikkie, but the university sees the option as an extra service. The Tikkie is primarily intended as a payment reminder: this year the RUG has sent 5,330 Tikkies, of which 1,661 have been paid.
After the current payment period, Bakker says that the RUG will evaluate the trial and take possible fraud susceptibility into account. The requests currently only include the student’s name, but Bakker says they may start adding student numbers. Fraud concerns may be running especially high this week following the arrest of four Groningen residents who made around 100,000 euros through fake Tikkies to Marktplaats users.
