Here’s a quick guide to some of the key terms you'll see when using Backpack for 529 payments. Use this glossary to understand roles, accounts, and steps involved in sending tuition payments through Backpack.

The person who owns the 529 account — usually a parent, grandparent or guardian. This is typically the same person who should create and manage the Backpack account.

The student the 529 funds are intended for. This should match the student profile added in Backpack.

The person who creates and manages the Backpack account — often a parent or guardian. The underlying Backpack bank account is created in the name of the Backpack owner.

Backpack requires that the student listed in Backpack matches the beneficiary on your 529 plan. For tax and compliance purposes, this ensures the funds are used as intended.

A record created in Backpack that includes the student’s name, school, and student ID. This ensures the payment is routed to the correct student at the university.

A personal checking account number generated by Backpack. It’s used to link your 529 plan and receive funds.

Note: This is different from your 529 plan number.

Provided by Backpack — used alongside your account number when linking to a 529 plan. Some plans might list the bank name as Old Missouri Bank.

This is the underlying bank that powers Backpack accounts. Backpack is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by OMB Bank, Member FDIC. Deposits in checking and savings accounts are held by OMB Bank and are eligible for FDIC insurance coverage.

A tax-advantaged investment account used to save for education expenses. Families can use these funds to pay for qualified costs like tuition, housing, meal plans, laptops, textbooks and more.

The financial institution or state agency that manages your 529 account (e.g., Fidelity, Vanguard, CollegeCounts). You’ll log into their site to link or withdraw funds to Backpack.

Costs eligible for 529 funds, such as tuition, fees, room and board, and required supplies.

The action of sending funds from your 529 plan to a bank account, in our case, your Backpack bank account. Some plans require you to initiate this manually by logging into your 529 plan's portal and making an electronic withdrawal to the 529 plan owner and then selecting your Backpack bank account.

Some 529 providers place a hold on newly added external bank accounts like Backpack before funds can be withdrawn.

This is normal and only applies the first time you link a new external account.

When you link Backpack to your 529 plan, you’re adding it as an external bank account — just like you would with any checking account.

Backpack provides the account and routing numbers for this.

Some 529 plans support automated linking and/or direct withdrawals while other plans still require a manual setup process. In these cases, you’ll need to log into your 529 plan’s portal, add your Backpack account and routing number as a new external bank account, and complete any verification steps before withdrawals can begin.

Some 529 plans may require you to verify the new external account before allowing a withdrawal. This may involve a small test deposit or a waiting period (hold).

A button in your Backpack dashboard used to start the payment process. You’ll enter the amount due and submit the payment once funds are available in your Backpack account. You can use "Pay Tuition" for any payment you need to make to the university, not just tuition.

A feature that lets you transfer funds into your Backpack account from a personal bank account.