By Amelia Boag McGlynn & Fred Byrne
The University of Aberdeen’s students have hit out at operational issues with a new centralised banking system for societies, with opinions split on whether the transition will make banking easier.
Tempers flared at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) as the Students’ Union’s (SU) new banking system for societies was criticised. Students appeared frustrated by some aspects of the system’s functionality.
During the meeting, heated comments were made regarding the rolling out of the system from members of various societies. A Lairig club member suggested technical
incompetence by finance staff members, and a Clay Pigeon Shooting Club member pleaded for the Students’ Union to ‘stop treating us like children’.
Over the summer, the SU decided to move from a system of individual bank accounts for societies in favour of a single bank account managed by the SU.
The new Student Group Finance (SGF) system allows societies to collect payments by creating products in their online shops or collecting cash to deposit at the SU, rather than allowing payments to be made directly by card or bank transfer.
Committee members of some societies have reported having to pay out-of-pocket for society expenses, before waiting for reimbursement by staff of Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA).
Some societies have opted to collect payment through personal bank accounts of individual members instead of using SGF.
Freddie Rhodes, Philosophy Society treasurer and Social Sciences Ball organiser said:
“Since we don’t have a sort code or account number, we can’t use any third-party systems that require them (ticket selling websites, banking services, card machine apps, etc.), which requires us to set such services to route through a personal account, in the most recent case to the tune of nearly £10,000.”
Furthermore, Isabel Barber, English Literature Society President, described her society’s troubles with the new system:
“Paying other societies is convoluted and often leads to communication breakdowns. We also struggle to receive bank transfers, which limits our ability to pay for things like performance nights.
“As a result, we’re forced to rely on alternative systems, such as selling merchandise or snacks through personal bank accounts. This leaves our society in debt to its committee members and makes it harder to track finances accurately.”
The SGF user interface has also been seen to display cash balances incorrectly.
Another student who acts as the treasurer of two societies spoke with The Gaudie expressing their concerns with the new system:
“The new banking system is slow and there is no easy way to receive bank transfers – receiving any payment, however small, requires AUSA involvement.
“The system doesn’t credit money (or they claim to credit it, but it doesn’t display) into our account. Currently, the SGF system shows us as having about -£8000, when I am assured that we have just over £2500. The time wasted is immense and stressful, as I must ensure that everything is tracked.”
THE SGF FAQ page on the SU website acknowledges this issue and attributes it to an issue retrieving funds from the original Bank of Scotland accounts. The SU are hopeful about this issue being rectified and encourage any societies still experiencing these problems to get in
contact with AUSA directly.
However, other societies are more positive about the change.
The Gaudie spoke to an ex-treasurer and now president of a student group to hear about some of the difficulties associated with the old system:
“We’ve had some big issues with the previous banking system. In summer 2023, I requested access around June, and due to mess-ups from the Bank of Scotland it became very difficult to gain access. They sent the card reader separately to the pin number […] then never sent the pin number – so I had to request both of these again.”
They continued, expressing optimism about opportunities of the new SGF system:
“Under the new system, this would not have happened. I’m the first to admit that there has been teething issues, but once these are resolved I feel it will almost definitely be an easier, more accessible system.”
The SU says that reducing the risk of fraud is one reason for system changes.
In an interview with The Gaudie, VP for Activities Tõnis Tilk stated:
“The Students’ Union Trustee Board identified the lack of oversighton money of clubs and societies as a massive risk to the organisation. For example, there could be a risk of fraud.”
He hoped the transition would help track spending to improve grant applications:
“It’s useful for us to know what the money is used for. Anecdotally, we knew that a lot of money was being used in transport, but we could not prove it. So, if we get data on how much money is used in specific areas, we can go to the university and say, ‘we need help funding this thing’. Data is king.”
Mr Tilk also cited issues with Bank of Scotland’s processes as a reason behind the change:
“We had major issues with clubs and societies not getting access to a bank account through the Bank of Scotland system under the previous system.
“I think there were 10 cases of international students waiting over six months for access, and by the time they got access it was already April. This especially impacted students from the Global South – from either South America, Africa or India.”
The Bank of Scotland did not reply for comment.
The transition to a new system was announced in August 2024. An announcement made by the SU in September followed up: “We aim to pilot with 16 student Activities before rolling out […] We anticipate completing this pilot ASAP, ideally by the end of September.”
The transition process was delayed, and the new system was rolled out to all societies in 2025. Mr Tilk said he had expected the banking transition to be complete by September 2025.
He told The Gaudie that going back in time, he would not have approached the banking transition differently and credited delays to Membership Solutions Limited (MSL), the company hosting the platform based in the University of Warwick:
“[The transition] was supposed to be finished in November. But that didn’t happen. There were issues on the company side – someone’s family member, I believe, passed away, and they were on leave for a month or so. So that was one of the main issues we had run into.”
The SU acknowledged student concerns raised around the responsiveness from the finance
team, although the SU have now said the issue has been rectified. Mr. Tilk promised that students should now expect a response “depending on the urgency of the query. It could be a few days, or a few minutes.”
A spokesperson for the SU commented on the roll-out of the SGF system:
“The Students’ Union recently implemented changes to the banking system for student activities to improve financial processes, making them more secure, accessible, and efficient. […] We recognise that any significant change requires an adjustment period, and while the transition has been smooth for a good deal of student activities, others have faced challenges.
“[…] There have been delays in payments during the implementation period, and we sincerely apologise for the impact this has had on students. We urge anyone experiencing difficulties to reach out to us directly so we can help resolve issues as quickly as possible.”
AUSA encourages students experiencing difficulties with the system to access the SGF FAQs, to talk to student officers at drop-in sessions, or to contact AUSA directly.
