Introducing STA Pay

For over 15 years, we’ve had the privilege of sitting in rooms with higher education finance teams at our University Discussion Forums. Listening. Learning. Understanding the pressures they face day in, day out.

And over those 15 years, some of the same challenges kept coming up – payment platforms that don’t talk to finance systems properly, student query volumes that overwhelm already stretched teams, reconciliation processes that eat up hours of admin time, and communication workflows that simply weren’t built for the complexity of modern student finance.

These weren’t new problems. They were problems the sector had quietly accepted as the norm.

We decided it was time to change that.

STA Pay is our brand-new, end-to-end student payment and credit control solution – built from the ground up using everything we’ve learned from decades of working alongside higher education institutions.

This isn’t a bolt-on. It isn’t a tweak to an existing product. STA Pay is a fully integrated platform that transforms the way universities and their students experience payments, reminders, and credit control. It brings together four core elements:

A next-generation student payment platform – simple, secure, and designed for today’s student. Multiple payment methods, international currency support, transparent fees, and seamless reconciliation back into your ERP system. Auto-allocation of payments to the correct student and invoice as standard.

An automated reminder platform – customisable workflows that let finance teams communicate the right message, to the right student, at the right time, across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and more. Everything from friendly pre-reminders to final notices, all managed in one place – without the manual lift.

A student self-serve portal – giving students instant visibility of their financial position, the ability to set up payment plans, make ad-hoc payments, and raise queries directly. Fewer inbound calls. Fewer emails. More time for your team to focus on the students who really need their support.

Expert credit control and compliance support – from pre-graduation calling campaigns through to AML, fraud prevention, and vulnerable persons training, we’re embedding responsible practice into every part of the platform from day one.

Technology is only part of the answer

As payment environments become more complex- particularly around international transactions, fraud risk, and student financial vulnerability – it’s clear that technology alone isn’t enough.

That’s why STA Pay includes a structured training framework designed to support finance teams and student-facing staff in the areas that matter most: anti-money laundering, fraud prevention, and working appropriately with vulnerable individuals.

Our focus is centred on responsible practice – enabling safe and effective use of payment platforms, recognising and responding to financial vulnerability, defining clear safeguarding responsibilities, and embedding compliance principles through real-world, HE-specific scenarios.

This isn’t an add-on. It’s built into STA Pay from day one, ensuring that good practice, institutional protection, and operational confidence sit alongside every element of platform delivery.

Why now, Why STA Pay?

Because the sector deserves better. And because we’re in a unique position to deliver it.

As the trusted debt collection and credit management partner to universities across the UK, we already understand the pressures on finance teams better than most. STA Pay is the natural evolution of that partnership – giving institutions a proactive, joined-up solution before debt ever needs to be collected.

One senior figure at a large UK university described what we’ve built as “the most exciting thing the finance sector in higher education has seen in the last 20 years.”

We’ll let that speak for itself.

This is just the beginning

STA Pay is completely free for any higher education institution that already uses STA for debt collection. There’s no obligation to use every element, and no disruption to your existing payment options.

If you’d like to see STA Pay in action or find out how it could work for your institution, get in touch – we’d love to talk.