Flywire Acquires UK Education Payments Firm WPM

Global payments platform Flywire has acquired WPM, a payments software provider for colleges and universities in the U.K.

“The acquisition will build on Flywire’s existing education payments business to scale its global customer base and is expected to further accelerate its market share in the U.K. education sector,” Flywire said in a news release Wednesday (Dec. 15). The Boston-based company estimates payment volume for the U.K.’s education sector to be around $30 billion.

Flywire says WPM’s software will augment its capabilities, while integration of WPM with Flywire will bring added value to clients through the Flywire payment platform, global network and industry-specific software.

“As a core pillar of our strategy, we continue to look for investment opportunities that supplement our strong organic growth and align with our belief that software drives value in payments,” Flywire CEO Mike Massaro said in the announcement. “WPM’s strong client centric approach is a perfect fit with Flywire and will allow us to accelerate our expansion in the U.K. higher education market.”

Founded in 2000 by Holger Bollmann and Jan Bollmann, WPM provides payments software for the higher education sector, as well as strategic consulting and industry research and events. The firm integrated with more than 130 university systems and has more than 170 college and university clients.

Read more: Flywire Reports 61% Q3 Revenue Growth to $67.8M

Last month, Flywire reported 61% growth in revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2021, and promoted its ability to turn a variety of industries into digital-first.

“We believe the next decade will bring a wave of digitization across the education, healthcare, travel and B2B industries, and that Flywire is uniquely positioned to lead this trend with our powerful combination of software and payments,” Massaro said at the time.

Flywire points to research it conducted that shows 77% of international students said simplified payments would improve their education experience. The company says global payments in education represents one of its largest market opportunities, with an addressable market of approximately $660 billion in payment volume.