Penn State expands Flywire role for tuition payments

Penn State has selected Flywire to manage tuition payments across the university, expanding a relationship that had previously focused on international student payments.

The agreement brings Flywire's student finance software into billing, payment plans, past-due account management, refunds, tax form delivery and third-party invoicing. Penn State, which has more than 100,000 students, plans to integrate the system with its PeopleSoft Student Information System.

Flywire won the contract through a competitive tender process as Penn State works to modernise internal operations. The project forms part of a broader strategic plan aimed at improving student service while strengthening financial administration.

Penn State has worked with Flywire for more than a decade on international tuition payments. That service covers payments from more than 140 countries in more than 240 currencies, according to the companies.

The expanded remit means Flywire will now handle both domestic and international tuition processes. Students will access the services through the existing student portal, while integration with PeopleSoft is intended to automate reconciliation and reduce manual errors.

Broader rollout

Penn State plans to deploy the full suite of Flywire's student financial software, including electronic bill presentment, payment plans, overdue tuition management, electronic refunds, 1098-T presentment and billing for third-party sponsors such as companies and government bodies.

The university has used part of the software since 2023 to manage past-due tuition. Penn State introduced the collection management tool to automate the handling of overdue balances as part of its student retention efforts.

Under the broader rollout, bills will show updated balances and anticipated financial aid, with due dates and notifications sent automatically to students and authorised users. Payment plans will adjust in real time, allowing tuition to be paid in instalments over four months in the autumn and spring terms and over three months in the summer term.

The package also includes electronic refunds for student balances and the delivery of 1098-T tax forms through the same environment used for student account information. For sponsored students, the third-party invoicing function will allow external sponsors to be billed directly and pay through the platform, while students and staff track those payments.

Carolyn Saona, Penn State's University Bursar, described the expansion as a practical step for students and staff.

"There is real value for students and the staff in modernising the way we handle tuition processes," Saona said.

"Flywire has been a visionary partner for us in solving complex tuition-related payment flows, and we believe there will be strong ROI as we expand our partnership."

Education market

The agreement also reflects a broader pattern in higher education technology procurement, as universities seek to tie tuition billing, collections, and payment processing more closely to student record systems. For providers such as Flywire, long-standing relationships in international payments can open the door to wider administrative contracts.

David King, Flywire's Chief Product Officer and Co-President of Global Education, said universities were reassessing long-established systems.

"Penn State is taking a thoughtful and leading look at the student experience, and we're excited to be a part of modernising the financial journey," King said.

"In this current operating environment, institutions know that modernising the student journey is a big step toward industry-leading fiscal stewardship. And they know that using the same old systems and approaches will not get them there."

Sharon Butler, Flywire's Co-president of Global Education, said the company was seeing more universities expand existing payment relationships.

"This is exactly the type of momentum we're seeing. Customers who trust us with their most complex international flows are now eager to let us modernise the entire student and staff payment experience," Butler said.

Flywire works with about 5,000 clients across education, healthcare, travel, and other sectors, excluding customers from two acquisitions the company cited. The Penn State contract stands out for the university's scale and the breadth of tuition management functions it covers, rather than for a single payment channel.