The global education map is shifting, with student interest in Asian study destinations such asSingapore, Taiwan, and South Korea rising by 19% from March to June 2025, and Hong Kong recording a remarkable 125% quarter-over-quarter growth1. As visa policies tighten in traditional western destinations, students are looking eastward for quality education, proximity to home, and more welcoming admission policies. Indian students are leading this shift, representing the largest source of search traffic for Asia Pacific study destinations1.
This surge represents more than a geographical shift. Asia Pacific's higher education market is projected to reach $28.3 billion by 2033, growing at 13.2% annually2. Yet, beneath these promising numbers lies a critical challenge that institutions cannot ignore: the financial infrastructure enabling international education. As student numbers rise and cross-border transactions multiply, the question facing universities is not just about academic scalability, but about whether their payment systems can keep pace.
When outdated systems become barriers
International students today expect transparency, speed, and control over their financial transactions, especially when managing life-changing payments like tuition or living expenses. Yet, many institutions still rely on traditional payment systems that introduce friction at every stage.
SWIFT transfers, the backbone of conventional cross-border payments, often involve complex chains of intermediary banks, with each taking a commission and adding processing time. The World Bank reports average bank transfer costs at 11.8%3, with processing times stretching from one to four days. For a student paying $30,000 in annual tuition, hidden fees could account for $3,540, funds that could otherwise cover months of accommodation or essential study materials.
The impact is particularly acute for families from emerging markets. Indian families, representing the largest driver of Asia Pacific's student growth, collectively lost an estimated $200 million to hidden charges in education-related international transfers in 2024 alone4. These costs, buried in opaque foreign exchange rates and intermediary banking fees, represent a significant burden for middle-class families stretching their budgets to afford global education opportunities.
The problem extends beyond individual hardship. Institutions managing thousands of international students face operational bottlenecks when payments arrive late or with incorrect amounts due to unexpected deductions. Delayed fee confirmations disrupt enrolment timelines. Late scholarship disbursements affect research schedules. Faculty procurement is slowed by cumbersome expense reconciliation. Each friction point diverts institutional resources from their core mission of teaching and research to financial troubleshooting.
The infrastructure advantage
Forward-thinking institutions recognise that payment infrastructure is not back-office plumbing but a strategic differentiator.
According to Anouska Ladds, Executive Vice-President, Commercial & New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, a next-generation payment system should deliver two key outcomes to student users: financial control and peace of mind.
Financial control, Ladds notes, starts with transparency. Students and their families deserve clear visibility into foreign exchange rates, transaction fees, and processing timelines before they commit to a transfer. “Multi-currency payment options allow them to choose optimal conversion times, potentially saving thousands,” she explains. Real-time tracking transforms anxiety into confidence, as families can monitor significant investments from initiation to completion.
Peace of mind, Ladds emphasises, comes from predictable speed and security. When tuition payments, scholarship disbursements, and stipend transfers move seamlessly across borders, students can focus on their studies rather than navigating banking complexities. For institutions, this means smoother enrolment cycles, faster grant processing, and reduced reconciliation burdens.
She points to solutions such as Mastercard Move, which enable institutions to transfer funds rapidly and transparently across bank accounts and cards in over 200 countries. “Students might receive scholarship funds within hours rather than days,” Ladds says. Researchers can use procurement cards with trackable spending and built-in security, eliminating paperwork delays and enabling focus on academic work.
Virtual cards embedded in institutional portals can streamline faculty travel and research spending, providing real-time expense visibility while reducing fraud risk. Instant disbursement to digital wallets or prepaid cards brings consumer-grade speed to educational finance, matching the expectations of a generation that considers real-time transactions standard in every other aspect of their lives.
Competing on the complete experience
As Asia positions itself as the world's classroom, Ladds stresses that institutions face a strategic choice. They can maintain legacy payment systems and accept the operational drag and student dissatisfaction that follows. Or they can recognise that in 2025, payment infrastructure is as fundamental to institutional competitiveness as library resources, research facilities, or faculty quality.
Student mobility is accelerating across Asia Pacific. With Indian students leading the charge as the primary source of growth in the region1, these students and their families increasingly evaluate institutions on operational excellence, not just academic reputation. “A university offering transparent, efficient payment experiences signals broader organisational competence and student-centric thinking,” she says.
The institutions capturing this wave of mobility will be those that view financial infrastructure as integral to their value proposition. Modern payment systems reduce costs, accelerate processes, and build trust across borders, creating space for what matters most: learning, research, and innovation.
“The transformation of global higher education is already underway,” Ladds says. “The question for each institution is whether their payment infrastructure will enable this transformation or constrain it. In an era where students expect seamless digital experiences in every interaction, payment excellence is no longer optional. It is the foundation on which future-ready institutions are built.”
References:
This surge represents more than a geographical shift. Asia Pacific's higher education market is projected to reach $28.3 billion by 2033, growing at 13.2% annually2. Yet, beneath these promising numbers lies a critical challenge that institutions cannot ignore: the financial infrastructure enabling international education. As student numbers rise and cross-border transactions multiply, the question facing universities is not just about academic scalability, but about whether their payment systems can keep pace.
When outdated systems become barriers
International students today expect transparency, speed, and control over their financial transactions, especially when managing life-changing payments like tuition or living expenses. Yet, many institutions still rely on traditional payment systems that introduce friction at every stage.
SWIFT transfers, the backbone of conventional cross-border payments, often involve complex chains of intermediary banks, with each taking a commission and adding processing time. The World Bank reports average bank transfer costs at 11.8%3, with processing times stretching from one to four days. For a student paying $30,000 in annual tuition, hidden fees could account for $3,540, funds that could otherwise cover months of accommodation or essential study materials.
The impact is particularly acute for families from emerging markets. Indian families, representing the largest driver of Asia Pacific's student growth, collectively lost an estimated $200 million to hidden charges in education-related international transfers in 2024 alone4. These costs, buried in opaque foreign exchange rates and intermediary banking fees, represent a significant burden for middle-class families stretching their budgets to afford global education opportunities.
The problem extends beyond individual hardship. Institutions managing thousands of international students face operational bottlenecks when payments arrive late or with incorrect amounts due to unexpected deductions. Delayed fee confirmations disrupt enrolment timelines. Late scholarship disbursements affect research schedules. Faculty procurement is slowed by cumbersome expense reconciliation. Each friction point diverts institutional resources from their core mission of teaching and research to financial troubleshooting.
The infrastructure advantage
Forward-thinking institutions recognise that payment infrastructure is not back-office plumbing but a strategic differentiator.
According to Anouska Ladds, Executive Vice-President, Commercial & New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, a next-generation payment system should deliver two key outcomes to student users: financial control and peace of mind.
Financial control, Ladds notes, starts with transparency. Students and their families deserve clear visibility into foreign exchange rates, transaction fees, and processing timelines before they commit to a transfer. “Multi-currency payment options allow them to choose optimal conversion times, potentially saving thousands,” she explains. Real-time tracking transforms anxiety into confidence, as families can monitor significant investments from initiation to completion.
Peace of mind, Ladds emphasises, comes from predictable speed and security. When tuition payments, scholarship disbursements, and stipend transfers move seamlessly across borders, students can focus on their studies rather than navigating banking complexities. For institutions, this means smoother enrolment cycles, faster grant processing, and reduced reconciliation burdens.
She points to solutions such as Mastercard Move, which enable institutions to transfer funds rapidly and transparently across bank accounts and cards in over 200 countries. “Students might receive scholarship funds within hours rather than days,” Ladds says. Researchers can use procurement cards with trackable spending and built-in security, eliminating paperwork delays and enabling focus on academic work.
Virtual cards embedded in institutional portals can streamline faculty travel and research spending, providing real-time expense visibility while reducing fraud risk. Instant disbursement to digital wallets or prepaid cards brings consumer-grade speed to educational finance, matching the expectations of a generation that considers real-time transactions standard in every other aspect of their lives.
Competing on the complete experience
As Asia positions itself as the world's classroom, Ladds stresses that institutions face a strategic choice. They can maintain legacy payment systems and accept the operational drag and student dissatisfaction that follows. Or they can recognise that in 2025, payment infrastructure is as fundamental to institutional competitiveness as library resources, research facilities, or faculty quality.
Student mobility is accelerating across Asia Pacific. With Indian students leading the charge as the primary source of growth in the region1, these students and their families increasingly evaluate institutions on operational excellence, not just academic reputation. “A university offering transparent, efficient payment experiences signals broader organisational competence and student-centric thinking,” she says.
The institutions capturing this wave of mobility will be those that view financial infrastructure as integral to their value proposition. Modern payment systems reduce costs, accelerate processes, and build trust across borders, creating space for what matters most: learning, research, and innovation.
“The transformation of global higher education is already underway,” Ladds says. “The question for each institution is whether their payment infrastructure will enable this transformation or constrain it. In an era where students expect seamless digital experiences in every interaction, payment excellence is no longer optional. It is the foundation on which future-ready institutions are built.”
References:
- https://monitor.icef.com/2025/08/search-data-highlights-surge-in-student-interest-in-asian-and-middle-eastern-destinations-at-mid-year/
- https://growthmarketreports.com/report/higher-education-market-global-industry-analysis
- https://www.teamdefinex.com/insights/evolution-of-international-money-transfers-challenges-and-future-directions/
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/invest/1700-crore-lost-in-fees-why-sending-money-abroad-for-studies-is-costing-more-than-you-think/articleshow/122765044.cms
(This article is generated and published by ET Spotlight team. You can get in touch with them on etspotlight@timesinternet.in)