Source:- Times Higher Education (THE)

The world of higher education is changing a lot as more and more international students are interested in studying in the Asia Pacific higher education countries. Between March and June 2025, student interest rose by 19% in Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. In Hong Kong, however, it rose by an amazing 125% from one quarter to the next. Students are looking east for better schools because visa rules are getting stricter in traditional Western countries. They are also looking for schools that are closer to home and easier to get into. 

Indian students are leading the way in this change, making up the largest group of people looking for study destinations in the Asia Pacific region. Their growing presence is a sign of a larger trend that is changing the flow of education around the world. By 2033, analysts say that the Asia Pacific higher education market will be worth 28.3 billion dollars and will grow by 13.2 percent each year. These numbers show that there is a lot of potential, but they also show a big problem that schools are having trouble solving: the financial system that supports international education. 

As more and more students move between countries, universities are under more and more pressure to update the systems that handle tuition payments, living expenses, scholarships, and institutional payments. For students and their families who move around the world today, financial transparency, speed, and control are no longer optional. But a lot of businesses still use old payment systems that make the transaction process more complicated, more expensive, and more uncertain at every step. 
 
Most traditional cross-border payments are made through bank transfers that use SWIFT. Most of the time, these transactions go through several banks before they get to the final bank. Each middleman adds fees and delays in processing, which leads to higher costs and longer times for settling. The World Bank says that the average cost of an international bank transfer is 11.8 percent, and it can take anywhere from one to four days to process.

The financial impact can be big for students. A family that pays $30,000 a year in tuition could lose up to $3,540 to hidden fees that are built into foreign exchange margins and intermediary charges. These costs are money that could have been used to pay for housing, books, healthcare, or other living expenses during the school year. 

Families in developing economies feel the weight of the burden the most. Indian families, who are now the biggest group of students in the Asia Pacific region, are thought to have lost about $200 million in 2024 alone due to hidden international transfer fees for education payments. These losses hit middle-class families the hardest, as they carefully plan their finances to be able to pay for school abroad. 

Outdated payment systems make it hard for schools to do their jobs, not just for students. Universities that have a lot of international students often get tuition payments that are late or less than what was billed because of unexpected deductions along the payment chain. These differences slow down fee confirmations and make it harder to enroll, which means that administrative teams have to spend more time reconciling accounts. 

The effects are felt throughout the campus. For graduate students, late scholarship payments can mess up their research schedules. Delays in vendor payments hurt the purchase of lab equipment and services on campus. Reimbursement systems that are hard to use and slow down cross-border transfers make it harder for faculty to travel and work on projects. Each of these points of friction takes away from the institution's resources and makes it harder to focus on teaching, research, and helping students. 

Experts say that as Asia Pacific higher education becomes a global education hub, its financial infrastructure needs to change along with its academic offerings. More and more, people see modern payment platforms that offer clear pricing, faster settlement, and fewer middlemen as important parts of a competitive international education strategy. 
 
The increase in students wanting to go to college gives universities a strategic choice. Schools that spend money to update their payment systems can make things easier for students, improve their operations, and make them more appealing to people around the world. Those who don't change could lose trust and competitiveness at a time when international students have more options than ever. 
 
In a time when education is changing quickly, being able to move money across borders quickly may be just as important as being able to move knowledge. 

 Also Read :- Education Excellence Magazine For more information