COMTEC is an annual event that brings together institutions, industry experts, and thought leaders to discuss the education sector's ever-changing and complex landscape. TransferMate, a strategic partner of TouchNet, was a premier sponsor and hosted two interactive sessions at COMTEC 2021.  

To kick-start the event, a panel of industry experts led by Tom Butler, Commercial Director at TransferMate, and Simon McFeely, Global Head of Risk & Compliance discussed ‘Building an Integrated Infrastructure for the Future’. During this hot topic session, the panel discussed the current climate of fraud which is affecting all institutions, and the growing publicity around fin crime in the education sector. The experts discussed how institutions have become an easy target due to the lack of regulation and payment controls across the industry, with refunds and overpayments targeted as a way to launder money. The session takeout, a world-class compliance programme that is the only way to protect your institution, resonated with attendees who are all too aware of the financial and reputational impact of being targeted for money laundering. 

On the event's final day, Tom Butler joined Aoife Walsh, Senior Business Development Manager at TransferMate for a Q&A session on ‘Taking International Payments’, allowing attendees to learn from industry experts and take the tools away to navigate the often challenging and complex global payments landscape. Over 20% of COMTEC event attendees turned out for this talk and the theme was clear, help me solve my day to day payment challenges which include; 

1. Reconciliation issues 
2. Payment settlement timelines 
3. The emergence of Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) 

Tom and Aoife outlined the systems and controls payment providers like TransferMate have in place to settle payments within 48 hours, automatically reconcile incoming and outgoing payments, and how APMs, including WeChat and AliPay, are handled through our integrated solution. Additionally, a regulated provider has a compliance framework in place and safeguards all funds, protecting both the institution and the student. 

While it’s clear that the education landscape continues to evolve and new challenges arise, working with our partners TouchNet, we can continue to simplify the sending and receiving of funds globally. Our regulated payments infrastructure ensures we’re set up to manage complex problems so you don’t have to. 

If you’d like to get in touch with our Education team about how we can assist your institution email Edu@TransferMate.com and we’ll be in touch to set up a call and discuss your payment challenges in more detail.