The College operates a pay-as-you-go cashless payment system for all Dining Hall transactions, meaning you only pay for the meals you eat. Cash will not be accepted in the Dining Hall. To purchase your food and drink from the hall you will need your University Card (Bodleian Card), which acts like a debit card within College, and money must be credited to the card prior to use. Items are charged individually at a subsidised rate. There is no need to book meals in advance.

You are strongly advised to use the Upay System (or download the Upay app) to add money to your university card in advance of your arrival, to pay for your meals. Once you have registered an account with Upay, you will then easily be able to see your usage history, check your balance and add money to your card. You can also set up an automated top-up system for when your balance drops below a certain amount. Your university card does not have an overdraft facility so it is important that you know the balance prior to purchasing food.

If you have not already registered for Upay when you arrive in College, you will receive an e-mail with a username and password. The username is your e-mail address in the format firstname.surname@st-hughs.ox.ac.uk and you can use the password received via e-mail to login to your account. If you haven’t received this, please contact the IT team. If you need to change your password, this can be done from the Account Management page on Upay.

If you are unable to top up your balance on Upay, for any reason, it is possible to top up your card in the Finance Office, Monday–Friday 8am-4pm. However, you are encouraged to set up and use your Upay account as soon as possible to ensure that you have sufficient funds when you come to purchase food in the Dining Hall.