It’s no surprise the current generation of college students are accustomed to financial technology (fintech) driving the way they experience university life.
These expectations extend far beyond technology improvements that emerged over the past few years, such as:
Paying and ordering meals from a mobile device
Utilizing ride-sharing
Sending money electronically to friends and family
After attending the largest fintech conference of the year, Money20/20, Peter Scharnell, Sr. Director of Payments Product Management, Transact Campus, said, “It’s clear that the fintech industry is driving our economy and technology innovation.” At Money 2020, we heard that Crypto is becoming more mainstream, the Metaverse is starting to take shape, and payments innovators are looking to drive new services that make the payments process seamless, scalable and secure.
As these fintech capabilities continue to develop, it’s the perfect time for college and university administrators to leverage the opportunities fintech presents to higher education.
It’s undoubtedly one of the best ways to appeal to college-age students who have spent most of their lives relying on advancements in technology.
Unique Fintech Features Can Transform Higher Education
Plenty of fintech features used outside of the higher education space can be applied to improve accessibility, efficiency, and convenience in the lives of college students, staff, and administrators.
While these benefits appeal to students, they also bring unique opportunities to higher education. Here are a few examples:
Tuition management (billing, payment plans, repayment, financial agreements.)
Campus funds management (refilling campus cards, meal plans, bookstore credits)
Fintech industry leaders are introducing these opportunities to higher education institutions, and have developed customized solutions to meet their unique needs. New features and solutions continue to be launched, that can significantly improve day-to-day life for students and administrators on college campuses.
Benefits of Fintech in Higher Education for Students and Administrators
While adopting fintech in higher education has been a slow-moving process for many reasons, there is no shortage of benefits that come from the right solutions.
Student Benefits
Students may not be aware, but fintech has impacted nearly every aspect of their lives, thereby creating a huge demand for bigger and better solutions.
Students have caught on to the idea that fintech on campus is not only useful but can drastically improve their college experience.
Fintech creates opportunities for:
Easier access to financial information
Improved financial literacy
Simplified tuition repayment plans
Smoother financial processes (making payments, signing paperwork, applying for loans, etc.)
A seamless financial experience throughout campus
Notice the descriptor words: easier, improved, simplified, smoother, seamless. These are benefits that improve the student experience and are realized by the implementation of fintech on campus.
Administrator Benefits
While meeting students’ demands is critical to creating an enjoyable campus environment, the systems, processes, and features implemented must also benefit administrators.
When fintech integrates with higher education, administrators will gain
The ability to get more done with less staff
More efficient processes
Cost-savings
Fewer administrative burdens
More time for other essential tasks
Opportunities to increase revenue
The bottom line: These advantages can significantly improve the administrative experience when fintech is implemented strategically and appropriately.
Fintech Opens Doors Across the World
Thus far we’ve presented the benefits and impact of fintech in higher education in our backyard, but the reality is fintech can unite and connect higher education institutions all across the world.
Some of the best opportunities include:
Providing more alternative finance sources in global markets for students pursuing higher education, lifelong learning, and workforce training.
Expanding international funding with the ability to track students into the workforce after graduation.
Deploying student and school-centric financial tools that are localized to specific countries and regions.
Harnessing higher education fintech solutions to enhance general financial literacy and entrepreneurial finance in youth populations.
Closing Thoughts
Opportunities to improve higher education are endless. Whether it be financial systems and processes in home-grown universities or the landscape of higher education in countries all over the world, fintech is providing these opportunities.
Implementing fintech does more than meet students' needs, it transforms the overall landscape of higher education.
To learn more about how fintech can be implemented on your campus, head over to transactcampus.com.
