The acquisition of US-based FundsV – which helps institutions ensure the genuine financial antecedents of students applicants – will help the new owner, UK company INTCAS, enhance its provision to schools, colleges and universities, according to Zakaria Mahmood, chief executive.

“We think the FundsV platform allows us to target new segments of the marketplace, allows us to go to different universities who obviously have issues with verifications of funds, which is a product we never had at the moment,” he told The PIE News.

“We think the FundsV platform allows us to target new segments of the marketplace”

Reaching 50,000 students in its beta stage, INTCAS also helps with different aspects of the admissions process, including submitting a single application for multiple institutions, as well as providing advice on navigating visa processes.

As a result of the acquisition, FundsV can be integrated into the INTCAS platform or offered to institutions separately.

“We can actually use that as a standalone,” said Mahmood. “So it gives us that flexibility in the marketplace.”

FundsV, which launched its services three years ago, allows students to move from the paper-based method of proving their financial capacity to online, a more secure way of verifying bank statements.

“I am now able to work with a collection of academics and technologists who are passionate about the sector, ultimately allowing education institutions to unlock the potential of new markets when recruiting international students,” said Cheryl DarrupBoychuck, founder of FundsV.

DarrupBoychuck is also a recent signatory of the Groningen Declaration, which seeks to combat student data fraud.

FundsV is affiliated with over 4,000 banks around the world.