Virtual Purse (ViP)

Logging in

1. Go to the ViP website
2. Click on Student login
3. The Welcome screen will appear, displaying your name and the amount you currently have in your Virtual Purse account

Select the amount to top-up by

1. In the left-hand menu, click top-up. From the drop-down list, select the amount you wish to top-up by, then click purchase. Please note there is a maximum top-up limit of £25
2. A confirmation screen will appear - click pay now to continue or cancel to return to the Welcome screen

Enter your credit card details

1. Enter the full details of your credit/debit card as requested
2. Click next, your details will be displayed. To complete the payment click make payment. Alternatively click back to amend the details or cancel to return to the Virtual Purse Welcome page

You will receive an email confirming the status of the top-up. In the unlikely event of a transaction failing, please refer to your Library.

Important: On Completion of Course of Study

Please note
Any unused credit in ViP accounts are not refundable on completion of your course.
It is the responsibility of the student to manage their ViP accounts.

How is my ViP account charged when I print or photocopy?

Printing and photocopying costs are automatically deducted from the amount held in your ViP account. As soon as you print out a document, the cost associated with that printout will automatically be taken off the amount in the ViP.

You cannot print if you have insufficient funds in your ViP.

Current printing costs

Current printing and photocopying costs are available online.

Logging in

If you are not already logged in to your ViP account

1. Go to the ViP webpage
2. Click on Student Login and enter your LJMU username and password. Click Login
3. The Welcome screen will appear, displaying your name and the amount you currently have in your Virtual Purse account.

Transfer the credit to your library charges

1. In the left-hand menu, click Transfer. After a few seconds the screen will update to show your ViP account balance, and any library charges you may have outstanding as shown in the screen below
2. By default, the full amount of outstanding library charges will be automatically entered in the Transfer box. This can be altered if required. You can only transfer an amount up to your current ViP account balance
3. Click Transfer - the amount entered will be transferred to your Library Charges account and the balance will be updated accordingly

Outstanding charges that cannot be paid using the ViP

Charges associated with lost books cannot be paid using the ViP - if your Library account has such a charge associated with it this will be displayed and you will be advised to attend one of our Library sites for further information.

LJMU Libraries | Opening hours

The online ViP pages provides access to the following reports:

Account history

Similar to a bank statement, the account history report details every transaction made on your virtual purse account, including top ups, printing jobs, photocopying jobs and library charges paid.

Print job history

The print job history report provides full details on all printing activity undertaken, showing job names, printer details, number of pages printed and so on.

Accessing the reports

1. Login to your Virtual purse account as normal.
2. Select the report type by clicking the link in the left-hand menu as required.

Important: On Completion of Course of Study

Please note
Any unused credit in ViP accounts are not refundable on completion of your course.
It is the responsibility of the student to manage their ViP accounts.

Using the third party login option, it is possible to update a 3rd party ViP account, such as your son or daughter, using the following details.

Enter the person's details

1. Go to the Virtual Purse home page, and click Third Party Login
2. Enter the person's LJMU email address and their date of birth and click Login
3. After verifying you have entered the correct persons details, click on Confirm and continue

Select the amount to top up by

1. From the drop-down list, select the amount you wish to top up buy, then click Purchase. Please note there is a maximum limit of £25 you can have in the ViP account.
2. A confirmation screen will appear - click Pay Now to continue or Cancel to return to the Welcome screen

Enter your credit card details

1. Enter the full details of your credit / debit card as requested.
2. Click Next, your details will be displayed. To complete the payment click Make Payment. Alternatively click Back to amend the details or Cancel to return to the Virtual Purse Welcome page. You will receive an email confirming payment, and the person whose account you have added credit to will also receive an email confirmation.

In the unlikely event of a transaction failing, please refer to one of our Libraries.

Important: On Completion of Course of Study

Please note that any unused credit in ViP accounts are not refundable on completion of your course.

It is the responsibility of the student to manage their ViP accounts.

Here at LJMU we take great efforts to ensure that your information is safe and secure, especially when you are transacting with us over the internet. Therefore we have enabled various security systems to ensure your details are kept private.

Data Encryption

Whether you are looking at your ViP Account transactions, paying a library fine or entering your card details to top-up you account, all areas of our site use encryption certificates to ensure that information being passed from your computer to ours is safe and secure – in fact it uses the same level of security as the banking industry.

Verified by Visa / Mastercard SecureCode

All of LJMUs online payment sites are registered with and use Verified by Visa (VbV) and Mastercard Secure Code (MSC) as an extra level of authentication when you pay. This means, that if you have VBV or MSC registered on your card, you will be asked for extra information to confirm you are the cardholder before the payment is authorised.

As a responsible internet merchant, LJMU would encourage all users to register VbV or MSC on their cards. If you have not registered this information on your card, please contact your card issuer to find out more.

PCIDSS Compliancy

PCIDSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a new standard set by Visa and Mastercard to ensure that merchants handle customers credit card details in a secure and appropriate manner.

All internet debit / credit card payments for LJMU are handled by an external company called WPM Education, who is the market leader in supplying internet payment facilities to higher education institutions. As of 10th April 2008, WPM Education became one of the first European e-payment service providers to achieve enterprise wide PCIDSS compliance. This means their systems and security have been independently tested and passed by Visa and Mastercard approved auditors as part of the PCIDSS scheme meaning your card information is as safe as it possibly can be.