The Higher One Story - for students...by students

I'm Miles, one of the founders of Higher One. If you're reading this, it's because your college or university uses our services - so, welcome to the Higher One family. As this may be your first experience with us, I'd like to share some background on how we started out, followed by details about the features & benefits of the OneAccount.

I founded Higher One when I was a junior in college (which was early 2000 - not that long ago) with two other college friends, Sean Glass and Mark Volchek. Our main idea was to expand the purchasing power of our college ID card so it could be accepted all over - not just on campus. While this was a good idea, we weren't sure it would be enough to become a viable business. We needed to provide a benefit to school administrators in addition to the students. Looking at the refund process, we noticed how frustrating it was for students to wait in line for their money. In addition, the process of issuing checks was costly for the school. We decided that we could create a company based on the combination of an ID card with a Debit MasterCard^®, which would help students get their refunds from their school faster, offer more choices in how to receive their money, and finally, save time and money for colleges & universities.

Our company was built on a culture that values integrity, teamwork, creative problem solving, focus and open communication. Open communication, to me, also means open communication with customers. Some of the ways we practice this is by avoiding "banky" words, or if we must use them, we do our best to explain what they mean in simpler terms. We also post fees associated with the OneAccount on the first page of the banking site (you don't find that very often!). On that same page - we've explained in detail how the account can be used for free. Since Higher One was created by students, for students, we made sure to provide many student-focused features with the checking account we offer - the OneAccount.

Thanks for taking the time to read this note. I've provided my contact information below & welcome your comments or suggestions on how we can provide better services and even more choices and features for students.

Sincerely,
Miles Lasater

P.S. If you're a junior, senior, or graduate student, I understand that change can be a hassle and you probably already have a checking account. It's easy to switch and take advantage of the OneAccount - it's always available to you with the no monthly fee, no minimum balance or per check fees.

Get to know Higher One, and me even better:

• Become Higher One's friend on MySpace
• Connect with Higher One through Facebook
• Read our company blog at www.HigherOneBlog.com

If you have thoughts or ideas on financial services, services for students, etc. Sean, Mark, and I are always interested in hearing from you. You can email me at . You can also comment on the company blog. We're always open to speaking about the Higher One story so if you'd like us to come speak at your campus, send me an email.

25 Science Park
New Haven, CT 06511