Accepting Cash as an Educational Institution Puts you at Risk of Fraud and Money Laundering – Digital Payments Are Your Solution

The power of digital payments in higher education does not just reside in its ability to offer students convenience, ease of use and alternative methods, but in its ability to trace payments from start to finish, ensuring strict measures on AML compliance, fraud protection, and transaction security are in place.

Universities are currently being accused of aiding money launderers after letting students from 'high-risk' countries pay their student fees in cash or by way of wire transfers that do not provide proper beneficiary data or third-party KYC screening. Security experts branded the move a 'welcome mat for kleptocrats', saying universities or colleges that accept cash are highly at risk of concealing the proceeds of crime ( Weston, K).

Unfortunately, in this day and age any educational institution that accepts cash or wire transfers put themselves at high risk of laundering the proceeds of crime, corruption and other illicit activities. Thankfully with the latest advancements in payments technology from fintech’s entering the space, institutions now have safe and secure alternatives to accepting foreign payments verses relying on these traditional methods.

Contactless payments are the solution to student payment AML risk

Contactless transactions are becoming a major priority at a time when people all around the world are minimizing their contact with others outside their households to slow down the spread of the pandemic. Removing the ability to pay for any student fee or tuition expense in cash or wire transfer and rely solely on traceable digital forms of payment will not only protect the reputation and security measures of the institution, but it will streamline the total international student payment process when working with the right third-party processor.

On top of fraud and AML, data breaches are becoming more frequent, bigger in scale, and more sophisticated. Advancements in identify verification, such as utilizing biometric verification technologies, create a highly secure way to verify someone’s identity and prevent hacker attacks as it uniquely identifies users by evaluating one or more distinguishing biological traits.

Utilize the latest technologies to protect your institution from fraud

PayMyTuiton’s Payment Wheel solution for international payments utilize biometrics and facial recognition technology for transaction screening and data transparency when processing tuition payments for colleges and universities. Utilizing biometric verification technology to identify senders and beneficiaries is a unique and highly secure way to verify individuals and prevent fraud in payment transactions across borders.

PayMyTuition’s biometric facial recognition technology provides educational institutions with a next-generation solution for their KYC transaction screening for the first time. We know that now more than ever we need heightened security measures when it comes to our institutions accepting funds overseas and this technology provides a streamlined experience for the student while ensuring institutions are protected when accepting and processing international payments.

PayMyTuition’s unique biometric verification platform enables educational institutions to integrate this technology into their existing channels, rather than being forced to build this complex native technology themselves. This innovation provides them enhanced payment processing security with identity and beneficiary authorization and fraud protection, giving students and institutions payment safety and peace of mind.

This technology will provide institutions with large and complete amounts of rich data including student information and payment statuses, of which they did not have visibility on before, making end-to-end payment transactions simple, transparent and secure.

Work with a third-party processor that will protect your institution from fraud and AML risk

At PayMyTuition we solve and eliminate the complex challenges that educational institutions experience with traditional ways of processing student payments. Contact a member of our team to find out how we can remove the friction within your international and domestic student payments business while saving staff resources, eliminating costs, and protecting your institution from AML risk.