Recovering gold from your international payments

If you send or receive money overseas using banks, you need to read our white paper. Recovering gold from your international payments explains in detail the problems that can and do arise through conventional banking services. Put simply, it costs you and your students more than you might think.

Click here to read the white paper.

Top sources of international students in Australia

Education is huge in Australia, and globally, Australia is the third most popular education destination, with high student volumes coming from across the world.

Top sources of Australian education

1. China is the main source of international students in Australia

2. India

1. 

   3. Malaysia

2. 

   4. Hong Kong, China

3. 

   5. Singapore

Each of these countries have a unique banking system, which sometimes makes it challenging for Australian education agents and schools to communicate payment instructions effectively. Because of this, students get confused and make short payments due to the banks deducting fees from the amount paid - a major headache for agents and schools.

With the Australian dollar falling against the US dollar in recent days, it is natural to assume that the number of overseas enrolments will increase. Revenue will rise, but if not managed adequately, the accumulated short payments will add up to a substantial amount as well.

Is it worth the administrative and financial hassle to chase up the difference between amount quoted and amount received? Should agents and schools increase prices? Will this affect the organisation's standing amongst potential students? 

Does it have to be this way?

No, it doesn't.

Instead of dealing with the aftermath of short payments, why not address the source of the problem?

NexPay specialises in international student payments into Australia. We offer your students favourable exchange rates and processes payments so that agents and schools receive exact amounts. To make things even easier, we reconcile the payments so you have a clear daily report detailing your receipts from students.

Visit us at www.nexpay.com.au

Source: The Australian

How you get cheated on bank exchange rates

International trade has became such as integral of daily life that most of us cannot remember the times when purchasing an item from abroad was not a common occurrence. However, how often do we pause to give thought to how much we're actually paying in foreign exchange?

Banks are always looking for creative ways to charge you extra fees, and one of their profit boosters is by cheating on foreign exchange rates. Let's see how the banks are doing this, and how you can avoid losing your hard-earned cash.

Steep bank foreign exchange fees

The inter-bank exchange rate is the foreign exchange rate that banks pay each other when exchanging money. Customers will not get this rate, as banks usually charge a fee on top.

Banks include this fee in the foreign exchange rate and don't break it down for customers. Hence customers never actually know the premium charged by banks. In addition, banks charge a transaction fee to process the exchange.

Major banks such as the Bank of New York Mellon have been sued over dodgy foreign exchange transactions. Moreover, 12 of the largest banks in the world were accused of rigging foreign exchange rates for profits in their favour.

No bank fees

What about banks which proclaim that they are not charging any fees? It is common for banks to not charge any fees but to skim a hefty percentage of the payment for profits. How can we tell? By comparing bank foreign exchange rates with mid market rates.

Mid market rates

The mid market rate is the mid-point between currency buy and sell rates, and the sweet spot which customer transactions should be based on. Banks and brokers will adjust their rates daily, and it will usually differ from the mid market rate.

Recipient charges

If you think being walloped by bank fees (hidden or otherwise) + transaction fee + unfavourable foreign exchange rate is bad enough, it gets worse - the receiver gets hit with bank fees for receiving payment as well.

When the payment arrives at the recipient's bank account, the amount may be less than expected due to the banks' skimming of fees. The recipient will then have to contact the sender to make another payment to correct the payment amount, wasting time, energy and money for both sides.

The average one way fee is 3.5%, meaning if you transfer $100,000 , you just paid the bank $3,500 for sending the money, and there may be additional fees awaiting the recipient. The math is easy - services which offer a better exchange rate and protect recipients from bank fees so that the quoted amount is always received, can save money senders a lot of hassle and headache, especially for regular senders or when sending a large amount.

Banking goes online

Thankfully, gone are the days when the only place you can conduct a foreign exchange transaction to make an international payment is at the bank.

A slew of mobile banking, online banking and specialised payment services have popped up, and there is a product out there to tailor to each and every specific need. Customers can also combine payment methods to ensure maximum savings.

NexPay is a payment service which makes international student payments (to Australia) simple and easy. We offer a lower exchange rate and ensures that recipients always receive the quoted amount by never charging bank fees in Australia.

If you're a service provider within the Australian education sector - agent, school or accommodation - you'll be happy to know NexPay also offers a free reconciliation service to ensure you always stay on top of your payment receipts.

For more information on how NexPay can assist you, visit www.nexpay.com.au

Coping with deregulation

How will deregulation of the Australian education industry affect universities? International students? Education Agents?

There has been much discussion about the issue of deregulating the Australian education industry, ranging from support over universities' increased autonomy in deciding on curriculum and cost to students, to concerns that higher education will become even more inaccessible for students, as government funding continues to drop.

Universities may raise fees depending on the courses which they will offer and their popularity with students - hence courses with exorbitant pricing will find few students, if any, willing to shell out for them. Undergraduate studies in Australia will remain reasonably priced, but universities looking to control costs further can seek other ways to do it, such as reigning in administrative costs.

For education agents, universities can up the ratio of international intakes to stabilise school operations as local students may seek to pursue studies abroad with deregulation bringing local education expenses up to par with global standards - however it is worth noting that Australia offers income-contingent student loans, so local intakes may remain steady.

Nevertheless, should current trends continue, the number of international students would grow, and this means increased administrative efforts to bring international students into Australia and maintaining a positive experience for the student.

Australia remains a popular higher education destination because of its world class education standards, and also because of its attractive post-study work rights. Measures such as scaling back on administrative expenses are a way to improve operations, deregulation or no.

NexPay offers favourable exchange rates for students and a free reconciliation service for education providers and education agents in Australia. This helps keeps administrative effort minimal, as NexPay guarantees all payment receipts are in the full amount (no more short payments!).

Visit www.nexpay.com.au for more information on how we can help you and your students save now!

Source: The Australian