Tag: payments

  • The changing rhythm of international student payments

    The changing rhythm of international student payments

    International education was growing. The United States hosted over 1.1 million international students in 2023/24, an all-time high and up 7% on the previous period. Graduate enrolments and OPT participation also reached record levels.

    However, due to an unpredictable macro-environment, forecasts indicate that the US could expect a decrease of up to 40% in new international student enrolments this year, resulting in a potential loss of USD$7 billion to the US economy.

    At the same time, budgets are tight. The loss of international student revenue can affect institutions in the U.S. Along with these losses, there are cuts in federal grants, with over 4,000 grants reduced to fewer than 600 institutions across the 50 states.

    The result is an education sector that needs reliable revenue and an improved student financial experience.

    Why instalments are becoming the default

    Students are funding their degrees from multiple sources while managing the rising costs of living. In TouchNet’s 2025 Student Financial Experience Report, 55 percent of US students juggle three or more funding sources, 82 percent say financial tasks require moderate to high effort, and half of the international students surveyed stated that positive payment experiences with institutions had a positive effect on them.

    That illustrates the importance of offering students flexible, self-service tools. By streamlining payment processes, offering alternative payment methods, and, most importantly, providing payment flexibility, those financial tasks that cause students stress can be alleviated. In turn, those positive experiences will lead to better-engaged students, who can worry about their financial standings a little bit less.  

    Apart from providing financial security and a positive experience to students, payment plans are crucial to an institution’s survival. International students contributed an estimated USD$43.8bn to the US economy in 2023/24. Protecting that value means eliminating friction from the invoicing, payment, and reconciliation processes across borders and currencies.

    From annual to monthly payments: what institutions gain

    Moving from one or two large value annual due dates to monthly, quarterly, or term-aligned schedules spreads risk for students in a turbulent macroeconomic environment and smooths cash flow for institutions.

    That shift helps students plan around scholarship disbursements, loans, family support, and part-time work, while giving bursar teams earlier visibility of potential issues.

    The outcome is higher on-time payment rates, fewer past-due balances, and a better student experience.

    What to demand from a payments partner

    If you are rethinking fee schedules, the partner you choose matters.

    • Look for providers that offer multiple payment options for annual payments and instalment payments. Whether it’s credit or debit cards, bank transfers, or alternative regional payment methods, ensure that the provider you choose offers a wide range of payment options.

      This way, students who need to pay you can complete the financial transaction in the most convenient way for them. A bonus is when the provider uses local payment rails to complete the transaction, helping you benefit from reduced intermediary fees.

    • Seek partners that can provide complete visibility of payments for both students and institutions. This will help to reduce your admin time. By maintaining a comprehensive record of student payment history, you can easily verify a student’s financial standing without having to search through paperwork.

      On the other hand, students and parents (or anyone paying the tuition) can view the status of their payments, balances, sign up for payment plans, and check their standings without needing to raise support tickets.

    • Make sure a prospective provider can facilitate fast refunds and handle automated reconciliation. Linking in with the full record of payment history, any provider you onboard should be able to initiate refunds promptly and return funds to the originating account. Not only is that required from a regulatory standpoint, but with the rise in education payment-related fraud, it may save you multiple thousands of dollars in the long run.

      Furthermore, if a student drops out of their course six months into their first year and has made seven payments for their tuition, it should be a simple process to refund them any amount they’re due. Choose a provider with capabilities to do so to save your team headaches.    

    How TransferMate helps you make monthly instalments work

    TransferMate’s education solutions were built for the new reality we’re living through. Providing choice across instalments and payment methods is at the forefront of our platform, and is specifically designed to meet institutional control requirements and student expectations.

    Here’s what you can expect from our integration:

    • Multiple instalment options out of the box: Offer students monthly schedules that they can opt into. Plans can be paid for across multiple cards, bank transfers, or local payment methods, with clear due-date reminders.
    • Recurring card payments for student housing: Students can sign up once for automated recurring card payments on their housing fees. This reduces missed payments, lowers the administrative load for teams, and provides students with predictable outgoings throughout the year.
    • API Client Dashboards: Finance and student accounts teams with embedded solutions from TransferMate can see payment histories and statuses per student, country, currency, or programme. This surfaces issues earlier and supports more innovative outreach to at-risk cohorts. As analytics deepen, you can monitor instalment adoption and on-time performance by segment.
    • Virtual Accounts and refunds: With our Global Account solution, you can accept and hold funds in multiple currencies, route payments over local rails, and issue refunds quickly without breaking reconciliation. And as a plus, you can convert currencies and make payments in those local currencies for any inter-campus requirements, scholarship, or guest lecturer fees.
    • Beneficiary Portal: Through our beneficiary portal, users can invite students, agents, and research partners to provide their bank details aligned to your reference fields (such as student ID, program code, etc). Instead of your team collecting sensitive bank details via email or phone, you can invite the beneficiary with a secure portal link, allowing them to complete the form in minutes. This results in fewer data errors, fewer returns, and faster payment processing for scholarship, bursary, commission, or refund payments.
    • Compliance and transparency. TransferMate operates the largest globally licensed fintech payments infrastructure, featuring end-to-end tracking that allows students and institutions to see when funds are sent and received. As we own our infrastructure, we offer preferential foreign exchange rates and zero transaction fees. Clients save real time and money, with one institution having increased the college’s revenue by about 3%, purely on the savings made on bank and credit card charges.

    The strategy that pays back

    The plain facts are simple, even if it is a hard truth to swallow.

    Institutions do not control the macro environment.

    But what you do control is how easy it is for students to enrol and pay. The sector is moving from annual lump sums to monthly and quarterly instalments because it improves affordability, supports retention, and strengthens cash flow.

    Being part of that movement is as easy as reaching out to a payments partner and getting started.

    Want to learn more about how TransferMate configures instalment options for your institution? Get in touch with our team today.

    About the author: Thomas Butler is head of education at TransferMate, driving innovation in payment solutions for the education sector. He leads teams focused on developing seamless, secure systems that simplify how institutions, platforms, and students send and receive international payments. Under his guidance, TransferMate powers collections in over 140 currencies across more than 200 countries, with fully regulated infrastructure and integrations via APIs, white-label platforms, and embedded solutions. Thomas works with both educational institutions and software partners to reduce bank fees, improve FX rates, automate reconciliation, cut administration, and enhance transparency, all to improve the payment experience and financial operations in education globally.

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  • The resumption of student loan payments means students will need new policies — and our help

    The resumption of student loan payments means students will need new policies — and our help

    After a three-year pause prompted by the pandemic, the clock on student loan repayments suddenly started ticking again in September 2023, and forbearance ended last September. For millions of borrowers like Shauntee Russell, the resumption of payments marked a harsh return to financial reality.  

    Russell, a single mother of three from Chicago, had received $127,000 in student loan forgiveness through the SAVE program, and had experienced profound relief at having that $632 monthly payment lifted from her shoulders. SAVE exemplified both the transformative power of debt relief and the urgent need to continue this fight — but now SAVE has been suspended. 

    Such setbacks cannot be the end of our story, as I document in my forthcoming book. The resumption of loan payments, while painful, must serve as a rallying cry rather than a surrender. We stand at a critical juncture. The Supreme Court’s devastating blow to former President Biden’s initial forgiveness plan and the ongoing legal challenges to programs like SAVE have left 45 million borrowers in a state of financial limbo. The fundamental inequities of our higher education system have never been more apparent.  

    Black students graduate with nearly 50 percent more debt than their white counterparts, while women hold roughly two-thirds of all outstanding student debt — a staggering $1.5 trillion that continues to grow. These aren’t just statistics; they represent systemic barriers that prevent entire communities from achieving economic mobility. 

    Related: Interested in innovations in higher education? Subscribe to our free biweekly higher education newsletter. 

    The students I interviewed while reporting on this crisis reveal the human cost of inaction. They include Maria Sanchez, a nursing student in St. Louis who skips meals to save money and can only access textbooks through library loans.  

    Then there is Robert Carroll, who gave up his dorm room in Cleveland and now alternates between friends’ couches just to stay in school.  

    These students represent the millions who are working multiple jobs, sacrificing basic needs and seeing their dreams deferred under the weight of financial pressure. 

    Yet what strikes me most is their resilience and determination. Despite these overwhelming obstacles, these students persist, driven by the same belief that motivated civil rights leaders like Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. — that education is the pathway to economic empowerment and social justice. 

    The current political landscape, with Donald J. Trump’s return to the presidency and a Republican-controlled Congress, presents unprecedented challenges. Plans to dismantle key borrower protections and efforts to eliminate the Department of Education signal a dark period ahead for student debt relief.  

    But history teaches us that progress often comes through sustained grassroots organizing and innovative policy solutions at multiple levels of government and society. 

    State governments have an opportunity to fill the federal void through programs like Massachusetts’ Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights and Maine’s Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit. 

    Universities must step up with institutional relief programs, as my own institution, Trinity Washington University, did when it settled $1.8 million in student balances during the pandemic. 

    The Black church, which has long understood the connection between education and liberation, continues to provide crucial support through scholarship programs. Organizations like the United Negro College Fund, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education remain vital pillars in making higher education accessible. 

    Still, individual, institutional and state efforts, while necessary, are not sufficient. We need comprehensive federal action that treats student debt as what it truly is: a civil rights issue and a moral imperative. The magnitude of the crisis — it affects Americans across every congressional district — creates unique opportunities for bipartisan coalition building. 

    Smart advocates are already reframing the narrative by replacing partisan talking points with economic arguments that resonate across ideological lines: workforce development, entrepreneurship and American competitiveness on the world stage.  

    When student debt prevents nurses from serving rural communities, teachers from working in underserved schools and young entrepreneurs from starting businesses, it becomes an economic drag that affects everyone.  

    Related: How Trump is changing higher education: The view from 4 campuses 

    The path to federal action may require creative approaches — perhaps through tax policy, regulatory changes or targeted relief for specific professions — but the political mathematics of 45 million impacted voters ultimately makes comprehensive action not just morally necessary, but politically inevitable.  

    Student debt relief is not about handouts — it’s about honoring the promise that education should be a ladder up, not an anchor weighing down entire generations; it’s about ensuring that Shauntee Russell’s relief becomes the norm, not the exception. The fight is far from over.  

    The young activists I met at the March on Washington 60th anniversary understood something profound: Their debt is not their fault, but their fight is their responsibility. They carry forward the legacy of those who came before them who believed that access to education should not depend on one’s family wealth, and that crushing debt should not be the price of pursuing knowledge. 

    The arc of history still bends toward justice — but in this era of political resistance, we must be prepared to bend it ourselves through sustained organizing, innovative policy solutions and an unwavering commitment to the principle that education is a right, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy. 

    The resumption of payments is not the end of this story. It’s the beginning of the next chapter in our fight for educational equity and economic justice. And this chapter, like those before it, will be written by the voices of the millions who refuse to let debt define their destiny. 

    Jamal Watson is a professor and associate dean of graduate studies at Trinity Washington University and an editor at Diverse Issues In Higher Education. 

    Contact the opinion editor at [email protected]. 

    This story about student loan payments was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.

    The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

    Join us today.

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  • California Increased Paid Family Leave Payments. Now More Parents Are Taking Advantage – The 74

    California Increased Paid Family Leave Payments. Now More Parents Are Taking Advantage – The 74


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    More Californians are using paid family leave benefits to care for a child after a new state law that increased payments for parents went into effect in January, according to new state data.

    Claims in the first two quarters this year were up about 16%, compared with the same time period last year, according to data provided to LAist from the California Employment Development Department.

    Anne Chapuis, public information officer for EDD, said several factors contributed to the uptick.

    “The January 2025 benefit rate adjustment has led to higher benefit amounts for eligible customers. Also, we typically see a higher seasonal number of claims submitted near the end of each calendar year,” Chapuis said in an email.

    While claims tend to tick up at the beginning of every calendar year, the uptick in the first quarter of 2025 was nearly 25% higher than the same period last year.

    Before this year’s change, most workers got up to 60% of their income when they took time off to care for a new baby. Now, many workers can get up to 90% of their wages.

    The changes stemmed from legislation in 2022 that aimed to allow more families to be able to take leave, especially low-income workers. Prior analysis showed that higher-income workers were using paid family leave benefits at much higher rates than workers making less than $20,000 a year.

    For those making under $20,000, claims were up about 2%, while claims for those making under $60,000 were up 17%.

    How paid family leave works

    Currently, moms and dads can get up to eight weeks of paid family leave to bond with a new child. That’s in addition to the paid time off pregnant people get before and after giving birth to a child.

    The paid family leave program in California is funded through the State Disability Insurance program, which covers about 18 million employees in the state. Workers pay into this fund with 1.2% taken out of their paychecks (it usually shows up on paystubs as “CASDI”).

    Workers who make less than $63,000 a year can get up to 90% pay — workers who make above that get 70%.


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  • Juggling risk and convenience in cross border payments

    Juggling risk and convenience in cross border payments

    The globalised education landscape continues to grow. According to ICEF Monitor, the volume of students studying abroad is expected to reach more than 9 million by the year 2030. And for education sectors around the world, international students are a major financial pillar. For example, in the 2021/22 academic year, non-EU students generated almost £9bn in tuition for UK universities.

    Pursuing academic goals abroad is an exciting prospect for students. However, the financial intricacies of international tuition payments can quickly turn to stress in the face of unpredictable currency fluctuations, communication hurdles, and complex administrative procedures. Meanwhile, for education institutions there is a fine art to balancing the need for secure and compliant cross-border transactions, with demand from students, their families, and agents for a seamless, user-friendly payments experience.

    The risks behind international tuition payments

    Handling cross border payments can be a tightrope walk for education institutions. When it comes to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, there’s an expectation that any sort of payment will be digital first, and seamless. However, there are several inherent risks to cross border transactions that finance teams can’t ignore.

    Topping the list would be payments fraud and scams. From phishing to fake agents, students are susceptible to schemes that lead to misdirected funds and enrolment issues – a threat that continues to escalate in the age of AI deepfakes.

    Currency volatility can surprise students and institutions alike. In the time between a student calculating their fees, and initiating a payment, the whims of the market can increase costs. For the institution, this can equate to payments arriving short, especially if intermediaries have deducted fees along the way.

    The challenge of managing international anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) regulations is another consideration. Plus, manual process for reconciliation and other administrative tasks can lead to errors, delays and financial discrepancies. The headaches for students and finance teams are real.

    Digital natives want seamless experiences

    Today’s international students expect cross-border payments to mirror modern eCommerce platforms. They want to make a payment online, from any device in a their method of choice, from bank transfers to e-wallets.

    Fast processing and real-time tracking are critical. For many international students, tuition fees are a major investment, and they want to see their funds are on track to reach their destination on time.

    Handling cross border payments can be a tightrope walk for education institutions

    Most of all, international payments should look and feel like local transactions. Payment platforms should accommodate diverse backgrounds for clear communication and support multiple currencies so students and their families know exactly how much their payment will cost. Even better if they get real-time rates.

    Failure to meet these demands can have real repercussions. Students are an institution’s greatest ambassador, and any negative experience can tarnish reputation and influence enrolment decisions.

    Find balance with the right payment provider

    Harmony between risk management and user convenience is increasingly critical for education institutions, and the best place to start is by partnering with a payment provider you can trust. Experienced international payments specialists offer robust fraud detection and compliance support, instilling confidence in students and institutions alike.

    Platforms that offer clear, up-front information about fees, exchange rates, and payments processes goes a long way towards building trust with students and their families. Combine this with advanced technology that delivers real-time tracking, and integration with financial systems for automated reconciliation, and your institution is well positioned to succeed in the digital age.

    To discover how Convera can help you offer a seamless payment experience for your international students, and reduce administrative burden for your teams, please get in touch here.

    About the author: Joanne McChrystal, originally from Ireland, is an alumna of Sheffield Hallam University, UK and the University of Economics in Vienna, Austria. With nearly three decades in financial services and a deep expertise in international payments, she has lived and worked across four European countries. Now, as the global head of education at Convera, Joanne drives forward initiatives that support educational institutions and their partners globally. She is fervently committed to facilitating seamless student journeys through innovative technology and robust partnerships.

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  • How colleges can improve financial transparency in fee payments

    How colleges can improve financial transparency in fee payments

    Effective higher education fee management maximizes revenue, reduces losses, and builds confidence with students and parents. However, 65% of institutions lose money owing to obsolete, manual processes (EDUFinance 2024). This is where student fees collection software shines.

    Let’s look at 10 data-driven strategies to improve student fee collection software for transparency and efficiency.

     

    Why Modern Student Fees Collection Software Matters

    Did you know 37% of college finance teams track fees using spreadsheets, which can lead to errors and miscalculations (Campus Finance Survey, 2024)? Student finance cloud technologies automate complex operations, reduce manual errors, and offer a transparent, real-time financial environment.

     

     

    How colleges can improve financial transparency in fee payments? 10 proven ways. 

     

    1. One seamless student registration and data sync

    Create comprehensive student profiles automatically matched with student information systems (SIS) including demographic data, course information, and financial details. Institutions running linked data systems report 23% faster fee processing.

     

    2. Clearly structured fees

    Fee breakdowns cause 48% of parents to argue (EdTech Insights, 2023). Flexible fees per department, course, or service offer upfront transparency and easier payments.

     

    3. Channel-wide fee collection automation

    Students prefer mobile payments 72% (Higher Ed Payment Trends, 2024). Make websites, mobile apps, and self-service portals accept rapid payments. Automated schools collected fees 27% faster and missed 15% fewer.

     

    4. Fine automation, absenteeism tracking

    Establish absenteeism and late payment penalties. Automation has reduced fee defaulters by 19% and ensures regular sanctions without manual follow-up.

     

    5. Role-based security to protect finances

    Role-based access control is non-negotiable even if 63% of higher education institutions report financial intrusions (EduCyberReport, 2024). Minimizing fraud and mistakes, only authorised staff should handle fee data.

     

    6. Parent portals for real-time fee visibility

    Parents demand more financial participation in their children’s education (82%, ParentPulse Survey, 2024). Parents receive transparent information regarding dues, invoices, and payment schedules via a portal, decreasing late payments.

     

    7. Automatic fee calculations for billing free of errors

    Errors in manual fee computation affect institutions’ annual income up to 4%. Calculate fees automatically using pre-defined criteria to guarantee correct, current billing for every student.

     

    8. Waivers, fee concessions, and flexible payment options

    Offer waivers, discounts, and flexible payment arrangements without any confusion on the back end. Supporting financially challenged students with structured payment plans resulted in 12% higher retention rates for colleges that have implemented this approach.

     

    9. Automatic fee reminders for on-time payments

    According to EduFinance Insights (2024), overlooked reminders account for 43% of late payments. Send automated fee reminders via email, SMS, and push notifications to significantly reduce the number of late payments.

     

    10. Real time financial transparency reports

    Access transaction history, income breakdowns, and outstanding amounts instantly. Real-time reporting improved financial forecasting and reconciliation for 89% of finance directors.

     

    The Bottom Line: Future-Proof Your Fee Management with Creatrix Campus

    Why let outdated processes drain your institution’s revenue? With Creatrix Campus Fee Management Software, higher education institutions can achieve:

    • Faster fee collection with automation and mobile payments
    • Enhanced financial transparency for students, parents, and administrators
    • Stronger security with role-based access and encrypted data
    • Real-time insights for smarter, data-driven financial decisions

    Ready to transform your fee collection process? Let Creatrix Campus help you boost efficiency, ensure transparency, and future-proof your institution’s financial operations.

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  • When tuition fee payments are suspended, what happens to students left behind?

    When tuition fee payments are suspended, what happens to students left behind?

    Whilst there may be good reasons for suspending tuition fee payments to “safeguard public funding and ensure students’ interests are protected”, decisions taken to safeguard the public purse often risk overlooking the individual students who are left behind.

    In April 2024 the Office for Students (OfS) opened an investigation in relation to Applied Business Academy (ABA) to consider whether it had complied with requirements to provide accurate information about its students, and whether it had effective management and governance arrangements in place.

    In September 2024, the Department for Education (DfE) instructed the Student Loans Company to suspend all tuition fee payments to ABA, until OfS had completed its investigation. On 27 September, ABA asked the OfS to remove it from the Register because it was no longer able to provide higher education. A decision to permanently close ABA was made on 22 October 2024 and liquidators were appointed.

    On 2 April 2025 OfS published a summary of its investigation. We understand around 300 current and prospective students were on courses partnered with universities who supported students through the closure and offered who were offered individual guidance sessions setting out options which included transfer to complete study as per the student protection plans.

    The other group of students

    However, there were also students who were studying for a Level 5 Diploma in Education and Training (DET) awarded by City and Guilds and some awarded by Organisation for Hospitality and Tourism Management (OTHM) – both at the time eligible for student loan finance. According to the OfS investigation this number looks to be just over 2,000.

    The route to raise complaints and seek redress for these students is different to the route for students on courses partnered with universities. As set out in the section of our Good Practice Framework that covers partnership arrangements, awarding universities and delivery partners will both be members of the OIA, so that students can benefit from a route to independent review of both party’s responsibilities. Where only one partner is a member of the OIA, our remit to review issues of concern to students is more limited.

    As the shape of the HE sector has changed, our legislation has been amended several times to bring as many delivery bodies and awarding institutions accessing public money as possible within our membership, to ensure that all students have access to an independent review of their complaints. But not all Awarding Organisations are currently OIA members, even where these courses are eligible for student finance.

    Access and risk

    There are clearly benefits to students of having access to student finance to access non- universities-awarded courses such as HND, HNC and level 4 or 5 courses with a Higher Technical Qualification approval. But we are concerned that the current arrangements may be inequitable, given that some students cannot seek an independent review of some awarding organisations’ acts or omissions.

    We have sought to close this gap by agreeing with Ofqual that awarding organisations being in membership of the OIA Scheme is compatible with Ofqual regulation and opening our Non-Qualifying membership up for awarding organisations.

    The impact on students of the different arrangements materialises further in cases of provider closure. In previous provider closure cases either the university has proactively put in place appropriate options or if they wanted to raise a complaint, the OIA could look at what the university’s role is in resolving this.

    As things stand, students at a delivery partner that ceases to operate at short notice, on courses awarded by an organisation that is not an OIA member, may find themselves with no clear independent route for complaints and redress. In our experience, students studying at HE level via a non-university awarded route and accessing higher education student finance, have no real understanding of this difference from those on a university awarded course.

    In the case of ABA, we have received a small number of complaints from students on the DET course, who are not able to access any financial remedy since ABA has gone into liquidation and the only option is for the students to become an unsecured creditor against ABA.

    We understand that where City and Guilds has received the work of students, there was not sufficient evidence for them to confirm the qualification requirements had been met for any student. This has been particularly difficult news for some students, many of whom believed that they had passed the course and were simply awaiting receipt of their certificate. They are unable to access further funding to re-take the year, compensation or travel costs to complete their studies.

    In the current financial climate and where franchise provision is coming under more scrutiny, it’s hard to imagine there will not be more students in this situation at a provider impacted by a closure. Alongside this the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will potentially open more level 4 and 5 “non university” awarded courses where students may be unable to seek independent redress.

    Whilst we completely agree that protecting public funds is important, we mustn’t forget that there is a real and significant human cost for the genuine students, sometimes with few sources of personal support to help them navigate their limited options, left behind.

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