University of St Andrews: Finance - Student Payment Services

Description

The University currently collects Visa and Mastercard accommodation and tuition fees via the WPM Education platform; this activity is specifically excluded from this tender process.  However, there is a large value of payments by bank transfer that are received directly into the University bank account, which then requires manual posting and reconciling to the student account.
The University also currently partners with a specialist provider for the collection of payments. The tender therefore consists of this and the above bank transfer activity, with a view to expanding the range of alternative payment methods, including such as China Union Pay, WeChat, Alipay, as well as standard international bank transfers. Note that accepting payments by card is not a requirement of this tender process but may be considered in the future. Current values and volumes can be found in Appendix 1 below.
The main drivers behind this tender have been identified as process efficiency, performance improvement, improved utilisation of staff resources, improved staff satisfaction and improved student (customer) experience.
The project team have identified their priorities as
- Offers a range of international payment methods including bank transfer. Allow flexible payment options (value and frequency (instalments)). Is a GLOBAL system which is compatible with CHINA.
- Direct interface into the student records system, SITS, and a full end to end payment process. The system should facilitate payments for tuition, accommodation and other.
- Easy for ALL students to use. Web based system. Clear and transparent FX rates and charges.
- Has an easy refund process (internally and externally), good reporting functionality and is a stable platform which is secure, scalable and can cope with demand.
- System can be maintained locally with good customer support and a dedicated relationship manager.
- Offers the best Value for Money (price) for St Andrews and its students.
The new system must be able to collect payments for the following:
- Tuition deposits, part payments (instalments) and full payments
- Accommodation part payments (instalments) and full payments
- Other fees – e.g., Summer courses for 16/17-year-olds