Some Large Universities to Accept Tuition Payments Through PayPal and Venmo

A start date for the new payment option has not yet been announced

NEED TO KNOW

• PayPal and Venmo will soon be options to send tuition payments at select U.S. universities, which the schools touted for adding flexibility
• The payments will be secured with encryption and fraud monitoring, as with other purchases, PayPal said
• However, some outside experts still sounded a note of caution given the amount of money involved

A handful of large universities across the United States will start accepting tuition payments in unusual fashion: through PayPal and Venmo.

In an announcement on Wednesday, Aug. 19, PayPal said that the schools will offer students and families the option to pay their fees through their platform and through Venmo, a subsidiary.

Schools that will offer this include Kansas State University, Michigan State University and Texas Tech University as well as Bellarmine University and Butler University, and PayPal says more could soon join that list.

“For students and families, tuition is the single biggest financial decision they’ll navigate for higher education,” Jackie Strohbehn, president of Nelnet Campus Commerce, said in a statement.

Nelnet and two other payment companies, Illumia and TouchNet, will work with PayPal on these options for tuition.

“Every payment option we add, including PayPal and Venmo, is about meeting them at that moment with more flexibility and less friction, so affordability isn’t a barrier to staying enrolled,” Strohbehn said.

Though PayPal and Venmo may be more familiar for everyday purchases, the company said in its announcement that tuition payments would have the security protection, including encryption and fraud monitoring, that is offered for other transactions.

However, some outside experts still sounded a note of caution given the amount of money involved compared with other methods, such directly from a bank account.

“The stakes are much higher when you’re sending tens of thousands of dollars of tuition than 20 bucks to a friend for dinner,” the National Consumer Law Center’s Carla Sanchez-Adams told The Washington Post.

The participating schools will set fees for using these platforms. At Michigan State, for example, 2.75% will be added, according to The State News, the school’s news outlet.

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“Expanding MSU’s digital payment options for student account balances provides students and authorized payers greater flexibility and convenience in managing their payments,” a spokesman told the News.

A start date for the new payment methods has not yet been announced.