Students will receive their when they arrive on campus. Otherwise, cards are issued by the Access and Information Desk located in the University Center. Hours of operation are M-F 10am-4pm during the academic year, and M-F 10am-2pm during the summer.

Do not store your card in a wallet or near other credit and bank cards. It demagnetizes the card and it will no longer work.

Immediately deactivate your card, by clicking here. To obtain a new card, go to the Access and Information Desk located in the University Center. Hours of operation are M-F 10am-4pm during the academic year, and M-F 10am-2pm during the summer. There is a $30 lost card replacement fee.

Your Student ID Number is located on the front of your Access Card, and is your Perm number.

Your Gaucho Bucks number is located on the front of your Access Card and is the same as your Perm number.

Please see this page.

Gaucho Bucks is a cashless, prepaid spending account on your Access Card that is accepted on and off the U.C. Santa Barbara campus. You must add value to your account before using Gaucho Bucks to make purchases and have sufficient value available in your account to pay for each transaction. Every time you use your Gaucho Bucks account, the amount of the transaction will be deducted from your account and you may not spend more value than you have. Unused balances roll over semester to semester and year to year.

Funds transferred by debit/credit card and cash are available instantly.

Gaucho Bucks can be used at many campus locations and at off campus businesses. Click here for a complete list of accepting locations.

At retail locations, Gaucho Bucks works much like a debit or credit card. Just present your Access Card for payment to the attendant at the register. Your card will be swiped in a terminal and the transaction authorized. You may be asked to sign a printed receipt of the approved transaction. At self-service locations, simply insert your card in the terminal.

Cardholder suggestions are welcome and encouraged. Recommendations can be sent via e-mail to our recruitment department. Please include the name of the location and why you would like to see them join the program.

Go to Gaucho Bucks Cardholder Account Center. Under the Login button, click “Forgot your username or password?” and follow the instructions.

Yes, it is secured via 128 Bit SSL Encryption so you can manage your account with confidence.

The Terms and Conditions outline program policies and terms of use for the Access Card. They are available for review via a link in the footer of every page on this site.

You may receive a refund of your Gaucho Bucks account balance when you graduate, withdraw or leave UCSB. Proof of withdrawal or dismissal is required. Refund requests must be submitted in writing to the school’s card program service provider by emailing ucen-access@ucsb.edu. There is a $15 administrative fee for a refund of Gaucho Bucks.

See the Registrar to verify registration status. You must have paid your fees and be enrolled in classes to use the bus with your Access Card.

For all initial inquiries, please contact Derrick Duong at dduong@housing.ucsb.edu with your contact information and perm number.