5 ways fintech has changed cashless systems for international schools

Most parents will be familiar with the feeling of picking up one of their children’s schoolbooks, reading a fact, and saying to themselves, ‘that’s not what I was taught when I was at school.’

Facts change over time. Our understanding of a subject improves, or innovations come along which give us a better way of doing things.

This is now also true of the way in which parents pay for their children’s school years. Innovations in the financial sector have allowed money to move around the world faster, more cost-effectively, and more transparently than ever before – all in a fully regulated and secure environment.

iSAMS-enabled schools are at the forefront of this change, partnering with fintechs like TransferMate to provide better ways for parents to pay. Today we’ll look at five new facts generated as a result of this change.

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1. Global coverage enables faster processing times for international student payments

Currently, the movement of money internationally is going through somewhat of a renaissance era. As a result, new and innovative cross-border payment solutions are available based on a modern and global infrastructure that replaces the traditional, complex banking system.

Whereas it may take multiple days, or even weeks, for international student payments to settle in a school’s account via SWIFT and other payment providers, payments made via TransferMate from anywhere in the world arrive in schools’ accounts within 48 hours; often, the same day payment is sent.

While this speed is more convenient for the school, as they receive their funds quicker, it also offers parents the peace of mind of knowing their children’s school place is guaranteed.

Sending a payment internationally is made as easy as if you were paying in your home country. Additionally, as TransferMate is a regulated money service business (MSB), they are fully licensed to transmit and convert funds on behalf of clients.

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2. Pay less than you should with zero hidden fees

Of the big expenses in life, childcare and school tuition top many parent’s lists. Saving even a percentage of that cost is important for parents transferring international student fees and schools receiving those payments, alike.

So why do parents and schools unnecessarily pay more than they should?

One of the most significant changes fintechs like TransferMate are making to international student payments is lowering costs by offering zero hidden fees on international payments and providing preferential foreign exchange rates to parents.

This means parents and schools pay less than they would on sending and receiving traditional international transfers.

Furthermore, the money sent by parents always equals the funds received by the educational institute as there are no correspondent banking fees. This puts parents at ease, knowing that the receiver of their funds won’t need to request further payment to reconcile any variance in received amounts. Schools can also cut hours of tedious administration time in reconciliation issues.

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3. Customer service that works for you

As fee payments are such a big expense, parents need to be able to pick up the phone and talk to a real person who can talk them through any obstacles in real time.

Compared with the traditional banking system, and competitors alike, TransferMate offers 24/7 multilingual customer support for parents sending tuition and student housing payments to educational institutions.

For educational establishments, this means all customer inquiries are handled by TransferMate, and reduces the number of queries directed to the college due to lost or delayed payments.

And for parents, this means there’s always someone to help them through every step of the process when they need help the most. Parents can access multiple lines of communication, from live web chat and email to phone and Skype.

Not to mention that with complete payment status tracking, parents and receivers alike have full transparency over where their funds are in transit. It’s like tracking a package from Amazon.

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4. Fraud protection in a changing international student payments environment

Criminals are becoming savvier in their exploits, and money laundering is a critical issue facing the education industry. Recent reports have found many instances of a refund scheme whereby criminals “wash” their money through students requesting a refund from their university after canceling their proposed education.

Fintech’s like TransferMate mitigate the potential of money-laundering schemes like this thanks to their industry-leading anti-money-laundering (AML) checks and due diligence on know-your-customer (KYC) processes. From identity verification and two-factor authentication to SSL encryption, every parent that makes a payment via TransferMate is vetted to ensure the safety of international student payments.

Modern payment systems use the latest technologies to detect and prevent fraud before they pass through the system. They also have the advantage of having a larger global footprint than many of the largest banks, meaning they have embedded local rules in their systems when payments pass through certain countries.

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5. Technology and automated systems to modernize the process

Of course, the “tech” in “fintech” adds significant value and modernizes how international student payments are made.

Processes that could only be dreamt of a few decades ago are now commonplace with Fintech companies like TransferMate. API integrations have developed to the point that the payment flow for international student payments is as easy as ordering food delivery. Tracking that payment is just as convenient.

Real-time updates on payment status throughout the short settlement window have replaced a phone call confirmation from the international receiver of funds at the end of a lengthy, anxiety-inducing wait.

Now, rather than transferring your international student payments and hoping they’re received, webhook technology updates both schools and parents on each step of the payment journey as though you had a personal bank official keeping you up to date on the flow of money.

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Changing international student payments for your convenience

One of the great things about learning a new fact is being able to pass it down the line. While some might be more fun than others to share, it goes without saying that the latest innovations can have tangible and measurable impacts on our lives.

The way fintech’s have built this globally regulated network that allows money to flow more easily than before is something only a few people are leveraging for their benefit in today's market. So, it’s up to us to decide whether to stick to what we were taught in school or become the teachers of the next generation ourselves.

Change how your school accepts international student payments for the better.

This article was originally published on the iSAMS blog, a partner of TransferMate. If you’re an institution who uses iSAMS, upgrade your payment engine by integrating TransferMate. For more information, contact the team here.