EasyTransfer Scales Student Payment Services in North America with Integrated Backend Solutions for Universities
Backed by renowned investors including Tencent and IDG Capital, and integrated with major platforms like the WeChat App, UnionPay App, and leading commercial banks, EasyTransfer has earned the trust of students and families globally. Now, the company is expanding its best-in-class experience to universities, colleges and independent schools.
'Deeper investment in North America is a natural next step for us,' said Tony Gao, Co-Founder and President of EasyTransfer. 'Putting students and families first has always been in EasyTransfer's DNA—it's good ethics and a smart approach that we want to make sure international students in North America can benefit from. Our partners also get to see stronger payment adoption, higher retention, and happier students.'
To lead its expansion across the U.S. and Canada, EasyTransfer has appointed cross-border payments veteran Andy Benkis as Vice President of Operations and Business Development, North America. Andy brings over 20 years of experience in the payments industry, including leadership roles at First National of Nebraska—the largest privately held bank in the U.S.—as well as Fortune 500 companies such as StoneX and Western Union Business Solutions.
He is joined by Stephen Golding as Strategic Advisor. Golding's previous roles as Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration at Cornell University and Chief Financial Officer at the University of Pennsylvania bring deep institutional insight to the expansion.
This North American expansion follows the company's successful growth in the U.K., where EasyTransfer is quickly becoming the payment provider of choice for students from major source country markets including China, India, and Nigeria. In 2024 alone, the company facilitated billions of pounds in payments to British institutions—including 11 university partners, four of which are from the prestigious Russell Group. With an in-house IT development team, EasyTransfer seamlessly integrates with its university partners' systems to further enhance the international payment experience for students.
Powering the Next Wave of Global Education
While EasyTransfer's roots are in providing D2C payment solutions for students, the company has rolled out a streamlined backend option tailored for North American schools—ensuring faster recognition of payments and improved compliance. Payment queries are then also redirected from educational institutions to EasyTransfer's 1-to-1 human support team, easing the burden on partners' resources and simplifying tuition payment processes.
Now, with international students themselves requesting deeper integrations at their universities and schools, EasyTransfer is inviting North American institutions to partner in co-creating a student-first future for global education payments.
'In a space long dominated by now aging platforms, EasyTransfer stands out,' said Stephen. 'They've earned student trust at scale. That's rare—and it's powerful.'
Built by Students, for Students
This includes being built into mobile banking apps and country-specific instant messaging EasyTransfer's direct-to-consumer (D2C) model disrupted the traditional cross-border payment market by offering lower fees, better exchange rates, and 1-to-1 human support in the payer's native language and time zone—all through familiar, local channels apps, creating a 'pay like a local' experience across Greater China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa.
'Most providers optimize for institutions,' said Andy. 'We optimize for families, which maximizes our impact for institutions. That's why our average student makes over six repeat payments through EasyTransfer—a clear sign of satisfaction and trust in our services.'
EasyTransfer partners with international agents, schools, accommodation providers, student associations, and counselors to support every stage of the student journey, from selecting their preferred institution through receiving their degree. This comprehensive, grassroots approach has fueled strong organic growth and deep loyalty, with students themselves now calling for deeper integration of EasyTransfer into university payment systems.
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