Flywire, Tribal Group Form Education Payment Partnership

Boston-based global payments platform Flywire Corporation has formed a strategic partnership with education technology firm Tribal Group, according to a Tuesday (March 8) press release.

The partnership will see U.K.-based Tribal Group marry Flywire’s digital education platform with its student information system, to make payments easier for students and administrators in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) markets.

“The demand for global education remains strong,” the companies said in a new release. “In a recent Flywire survey of more than 1,400 students in seven different countries, 68% were either studying abroad or planned to.”

Read more: Flywire Q4 Total Payments Volume Up 75% on Education, Healthcare, Travel Sector Growth

EMEA and APAC countries are among the most popular destinations, accounting for seven of the top 10 destinations for students, hosting more than 2.3 million each year.

“But managing student payments originating from different countries and in different currencies can create difficult challenges for their finance teams,” the companies said. “They have to manage domestic and international payments in different systems. Reconciling international payments typically requires a lot of manual effort for staff and can complicate student registration. This all creates complexity and friction for both students and university staff.”

Flywire and Tribal Group say their partnership makes things easier for both sides of the payment process. Students and families get a secure and easy digital payment experience, while institutions get a chance to consolidate their multiple payment options and create custom payment plans for students and families.

Read also: Flywire, Adapt IT Digitize International Education Payments in South Africa

The partnership comes two weeks after Flywire announced it had integrated with Adapt IT Education to digitize cross-border education payments for students in South Africa.

“We considered various payment partners, but Flywire was the standout for international payment enablement,” Luxolo Rubushe, managing director of Adapt IT Education, said at the time, noting that Flywire’s tech would easily integrate into the Adapt system.

Last week, Flywire reported its total payments volume in the fourth quarter jumped 75% to $3.1 billion, helped along by demand in the education sector.