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About UNCW
The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) is a growing public research university with nearly 20,000 students. Around 1,000 of these are international students.
The Challenge
Before TransferMate was integrated with TouchNet, UNCW faced a number of challenges in processing international student payments.
Students were often redirected to third-party sites or banking portals, creating confusion and trust issues. Without a fully embedded process, many weren’t sure whether to direct questions to the university or the payment provider.
“Some of what we would hear at the international fairs was just the confusion on going to different sites and what all they needed in one place, and who to talk to,” said Katie South, Assistant Director of Student Accounts at University of North Carolina Wilmington.
For the finance team, the lack of integration meant significant manual work. Payments made through banks or agencies required staff to pull funds, match them to the correct student, and then manually upload the data into TouchNet.
“It was just more steps because it wasn't integrated. We would have to pull the money in, process it, post it to the student’s account, and then move it through our state system,” explained Laura Gore, Director of Student Accounts and University Cashiers at University of North Carolina Wilmington.
The lack of real-time visibility also created uncertainty during critical times. “We didn't know what was coming in when it was around drop date,” Laura continued. “Now, we can look and see if there are payments coming through TransferMate.”
There were also practical concerns for students. Without U.S. bank accounts, some international students attempted to pay with large sums of cash or navigated varying exchange rates at different banks – often leading to extra costs and further confusion.
International refunds were also slow and paperwork-heavy, and depended on back-and-forth with students, sometimes stretching to two weeks.
“The old way was much more time-consuming… if the student didn’t respond, we couldn’t process the refund. It was very much like a two-week process,” said Laura.
The Solution
UNCW were part of the pilot group for the TransferMate + TouchNet integration, implementing it several years ago and adopting the fully embedded solution in 2023.
Now, international students can make payments directly through UNCW’s branded TouchNet portal. Their account activity is updated live, and payment status (initiated, promised, cleared) is visible to both the student and the university.
“A lot of our students utilize it. It makes it easier for them because they're already in the payment portal. They see their balance, select TransferMate from a dropdown, and proceed with their payment. And once they do that, we can also see it on our side,” said Katie.
For staff, payments post automatically to the student account, eliminating the need for manual matching or reconciliation.
“We don’t have to match the payments,” said Laura. “They automatically post to the student’s account. We just run our reports.”
The integration has also streamlined refunds. With TouchNet-integrated TransferMate refunds, staff initiate the refund within their ERP/TouchNet flow. What once took up to two weeks and required back-and-forth with students is now a matter of minutes.
“The old way was much more time-consuming, with lots of paperwork. Now, once we run our processes, it’s quick. It’s a huge difference compared to before,” Laura noted.
The Results
The TransferMate integration with TouchNet has brought efficiency and peace of mind to UNCW’s international payment process.
For students, it means payments happen in one trusted portal, with status updates visible in real time. “They get an email automatically from the TouchNet system letting them know they’ve initiated a TransferMate payment,” Katie explained. “It’s just one place, and it’s easier for them.”
For staff, the time savings are significant. Manual reconciliation has been removed, and visibility into initiated payments allows the team to protect students during drop-day periods.
“Where it comes in to help us most is on those deadline days for non-payment,” said Laura. “If a payment has been initiated but not yet received, we’re not dropping that student. We know the payment is coming.”
Refunds are also faster and less admin-heavy, with everything handled through the integrated system.
“It saves time for staff, and it provides better customer service to the students,” Laura added.
The Final Word
“It saves time for staff, and it provides better customer service to the students. Payments post without manual work, we can see when a student has initiated payment, and refunds have become much easier.”
- Laura Gore, Director of Student Accounts and University Cashiers at University of North Carolina Wilmington.
To talk to the TransferMate TouchNet team, click here.
