The privately owned US company – which says it was the first in the education space to offer local payment options from China and India in 2012 – will enable students to use more banks and local payment transfer operators, and provide more online options.

The firm says that it expects business from China and India to increase

Iker Marcaide, CEO of peerTransfer, said: “Even though we have been processing payments from China and India for the last year, it is part of our mission to continually innovate and launch new payment methods that are the most convenient for students and their families.”

In China four different payment options have been launched, with multiple methods within each. A Chinese student can now make an online payment directly from their bank account, send a traditional wire from any bank in China, or go through local transfer firms China UnionPay, Alipay and Payease.

In India, students will be able to pay by bank transfer from ICICI, the country’s second largest bank, and Muthoot Group, either online, offline or by phone.

Some 325 education institutions globally accept payments through peerTransfer. The firm says that it expects business from China and India to increase through the new channels.

Chinese and Indian students represent a large proportion of international students globally, including some 38% of those that study in the US, according to IIE – a 12.5 percent increase from 2010/11.

UniPay and Western Union have also launched tuition payment services for both markets since 2012, to help overcome the usually cumbersome and costly process of paying through the global banking system.