- Expanded capability will allow simpler tuition payments for Chinese students
- Colleges and universities will be able to accept digital payments through a number of popular platforms
- WeChat integration is latest in Western Union's commitment to offer more choice for international students through its GlobalPay for Students service
Global financial institution and money transfers service Western Union has just announced the addition of WeChat Pay to its popular GlobalPay for Students product. The expanded service will make it easier for colleges and universities to offer Chinese students more options when it comes to tuition payment.
Students can now make tuition payments with a number of digital platforms including WeChat Pay, Tenpay, UnionPay and Alipay. Officials believe this will significantly improve the speed and convenience of payments for Chinese students studying abroad.
Digital payment platforms enjoy great popularity in China. Money transfers made through the WeChat messaging app alone have increased from $11.6bn in 2012 to roughly $1.2tn in 2016, according to recent data from the United Nations. Another survey found that WeChat Pay handled about 40% of all mobile financial transactions across China during the first quarter of 2017.
With more and more Chinese students travelling internationally to earn undergraduate and post-graduate degrees, the Western Union partnership with WeChat comes at the right time.
According to research compiled by the Center for China and Globalization, Chinese students studying abroad accounted for one in four of all international students around the world in 2015. Universities can embrace this trend and better serve this growing student population by offering more convenient payment options.
"Mobile payments play a key role in the day-to-day life of China's digitally savvy population," said Adam Tiberi, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Product with Western Union Business Solutions. “Being able to use WeChat Pay and other popular payment platforms is crucial for Chinese students."
Tiberi went on to say that as the world's biggest international student population, Chinese students want simple, convenient payment solutions from the institutions they attend. He said that the WeChat Pay expansion will allow schools to provide the payment solutions Chinese students expect.
Raymond Qu, CEO of Geoswift Limited – the payments company that has partnered with Western Union to offer payment solutions into and out of China – expects that the GlobalPay for Students update could help universities attract Chinese students because of the improved tuition payment options.
Western Union launched GlobalPay for Students to help colleges and universities make payments easier for international students. Schools that adopt the platform can process, reconcile and refund payments to and from international students more efficiently with mobile options and real-time transaction tracking.
GlobalPay for Students offers international students a variety of services including online bank transfers, credit card payments and digital payment solutions in more than 30 countries around the world. In addition to the newly-added WeChat Pay capability, the platform also supports popular services from POLI Payments, Trustly, SOFORT, India Net Banking and more.