It’s no secret that in the current economic and geopolitical environment, Higher education institutions are feeling the pinch when it comes to international student programs. As tuition fees continue to increase and the cost-of-living surges globally, the ROI for international students only gets tighter. Meanwhile, educational institutions face increasing budget constraints, forcing them to do more with less.
As these pressures mount, one area within institutions is often overlooked when it comes to shaping the experience of international students: the finance team. Complex payment systems, currency conversion issues, and high transaction costs are major challenges for international students. Today, new innovations like embedded payment solutions are giving finance teams the power to influence the international student experience and increase ROI for students studying abroad.
What are embedded payment solutions?
When international students, their families, and agents pay fees and other study expenses, they are often forced to navigate multiple platforms. Switching between a student portal, your institution’s website, and a banking platform causes confusion and errors, ultimately increasing the number of abandoned payments.
Switching between a student portal, your institution’s website, and a banking platform causes confusion and errors, ultimately increasing the number of abandoned payments
Embedded payment solutions enable transactions to be completed quickly and securely within the institution’s platforms, which allows finance teams to support international students more effectively. Think of using a rideshare app like Uber, and being able to pay for your trip in-app. Now imagine giving your international students the convenience to pay for their tuition and fees without leaving your website.
Why embedded payment solutions are a game changer
Embedded payment solutions help reduce administrative burdens for both finance teams and international students while minimising transaction costs. Ultimately, they boost the experience of students as they navigate a complex financial landscape in a foreign country.
Finance teams achieve a reduction in administrative tasks as workflows like invoice-approval-to-payment become streamlined within one system. Reduced manual entry on the students’ part leads to less errors, which equates to smoother reconciliation on the finance team’s end.
Setting up a financial infrastructure and navigating regulatory requirements can be complex and time consuming. The beauty of an embedded payment solution is that it allows for a payments platform to be easily integrated into your website and ERP with one simple line of code. No complex IT implementations or heavy lifting is required. Real-time callbacks help ensure audit trails and compliance with financial regulations, while data protection standards such as GPDR and PCI-DSS are also maintained.
Enhancing student experience
When international students can pay their tuition and fees easily and securely, within your institution’s website, trust and confidence increase and payment conversions get a boost. Reducing the anxiety that comes with navigating multiple platforms to complete such a significant financial investment on the student’s part, goes a long way to strengthening your institution’s brand.
Embedded payment solutions are key to students’ expectations of a broader digital transformation, where the ability to pay on-demand using the option that suits them best is paramount. These needs are met by providing access to flexible payment options including credit and debit cards, eWallets, Pay by Bank (or online payment options such as Klarna or Trustly) and international wire transfers when and where students need them.
Students can pay from any device via a fully responsive user interface, where fields such as student name and payment amount can be pre-populated or locked to increase data accuracy and minimise double entry. And transparent payment tracking gives students confidence that their payment is on schedule to arrive by assigned due dates.
Best of all, embedding a solution from a cross-border payments specialist with its own in-country banking network, means students pay fewer intermediary fees (and your institution receives payments in full).
Simple payments mean happy students
Students are experiencing seamless payments when doing day-to-day activities like online shopping. Why wouldn’t international students expect the same frictionless experience when paying their tuition and fees? Embedded payments are an opportunity for forward thinking educational institutions to enhance their students’ experience and differentiate their brand.
In early 2025, Convera and TouchNet came together to simplify the payment process and increase student payment conversions. By integrating Convera’s international payments solution into TouchNet’s Bill+Payment module, international students now have easy access to a secure and frictionless payments experience.
To learn more about our embedded payment solution for your institution and international students, please get in touch here.
About the author: Ryan Eby is global product lead, GlobalPay for Students at Convera. With over eight years of experience at Western Union Business Solutions and Convera, Ryan brings extensive expertise in financial technology and product innovation. He has dedicated six years to leading global product development for GlobalPay for Students, where he has driven strategic initiatives to systematically strengthen and expand the education-focused product suite. Ryan’s leadership extends beyond the education product, as he has been selected to lead critical transformation projects that advance Convera’s strategic objectives and market position.
