In an effort to make the process of doing laundry on campus more efficient, Tufts has installed a new laundry system in its residence halls that allows students to track and pay for their loads through a mobile app. Over the summer, the university replaced all old laundry machines with new ones from the commercial laundry service provider CSC ServiceWorks, which provides millions of laundry machines to colleges, hotels and other locations throughout North America and Europe.
Previously, students could only use JumboCash or coins to pay for laundry and would often have to create timers on their phone to alert them when their load was finished. Now, on the CSCPay Mobile app, students can view how many washers and dryers are available, pay for laundry and receive notifications when a cycle is done.
“The new laundry system includes changes to the laundry payment system so students no longer need to worry about finding coins to do their laundry as well as consistency in laundry services – equipment and payment methods – across residences,” Associate Director of Auxiliary Services Scott Rosario wrote in a statement.
Students are able to use credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, JumboCash or the CSCPay Mobile App itself to make laundry payments. Through the app, students can also request service or a refund for their laundry.
“There are over 70 laundry locations and over 300 pieces of new laundry equipment across Tufts University. The new washers and dryers are modern, energy efficient machines produced by Speed Queen,” Rosario wrote. “With the new equipment, all new payment terminals were installed on each machine to allow for the new payment system.”
Sophomore Jonathan Manta shared his experience using a similar laundry system while traveling.
“I think it’s great, because a lot of students just have everything on their phone — if not everyone,” he said. “This summer I used a similar system when I was visiting my friend in Colombia where I could just pay through my phone. … I think it’s definitely something everybody’s [going to] like.”
First-year student Leah Munoz, whose class year is the first at Tufts to try out the new system, expressed excitement about the mobile app.
“This shows how awesome technology can be in terms of the convenience factor. I totally appreciated [seeing] where my laundry is at, how much time I have left … especially because that can be sometimes a bit of a hassle,” she said.
But Munoz stressed that, with the new ability to connect more payment methods to the app, she plans to be careful about how much money she puts towards laundry.
“I’m going to be very conscientious about making sure that I’m spending the appropriate amount on laundry,” she said. “I don’t want this app to somehow jeopardize my finances or my debit card or anything like that.”
In recent months, CSC ServiceWorks has been plagued by a series of cybersecurity issues. Most recently, on Aug. 9, the company revealed that over 35,000 individuals in its systems had their data breached in 2023, including their social security numbers and financial information.
In May 2024, the company also made headlines when two students at the University of California Santa Cruz were reported to have discovered a major security vulnerability that allowed students to bypass security checks and run laundry cycles for free. Students could remotely send commands to the machines and trick them into running loads without them having to pay. The security flaw even enabled students to code millions of dollars into their laundry accounts.
However, Alexander Sherbrooke, one of the students who discovered the security flaw, informed the Daily that the system used at UC Santa Cruz — MyCSCGO — is different from CSCPay, which is used at Tufts.
“There may still be vulnerabilities [with CSCPay] - but I can’t really look into it. I urge people to try, though: anyone can find a vulnerability, it just takes focus and curiosity!” Sherbrooke wrote.
Rosario wrote that Tufts is confident in the security of its new laundry system.
“The vulnerability was addressed, and the company has made changes to their process for identifying and addressing vulnerabilities,” Rosario wrote. “There are no cybersecurity concerns with the new system. Tufts Technology Services conducted security and accessibility checks to ensure all standards are met by the vendors providing these systems.”
