The same challenges kept coming up: payment platforms that don't talk to finance systems properly, student queries that overwhelm already stretched teams, reconciliation that eats hours of admin time, and a payment provider, a reminder process, a spreadsheet of payment plans and a collection agency that don't talk to each other.
Nobody has a single view of what a student owes, what they've been told, or what's already been agreed with them. Students fall through the gaps. Cash arrives late, or not at all.
These weren't new problems. The sector had quietly accepted them as normal.
We decided it was time to change that.
Most payment platforms stop when the payment does
STA Pay is our new end-to-end student payment and credit control solution. It covers the whole journey: collecting tuition and accommodation fees, chasing what's late, and recovering what's overdue. One provider and one view of the student, from the first invoice to legal action.
It's the only student payment platform built by a debt recovery business, so it's designed around the part every other provider treats as somebody else's problem.
STA Pay brings together six elements:
Student Payment Platform. Students pay in their choice of currency by bank transfer, card or a local payment method, with simple, clear instructions. Payments are reconciled quickly and securely back into your ERP.
Student Portal. Accessed through university SSO, it shows students their financial position and lets them make ad hoc payments, request payment plans and raise queries themselves. That means fewer calls and emails, and more time for the students who really need your team's help.
Automated Reminder and Refund Platform. You can set up automated reminders for upcoming and outstanding payments, manage payment plans, answer student queries and issue refunds in bulk, all in one place.
Credit Control and Debt Collection. Cases pass straight into STA with their documents attached, and updates on them flow back to your credit control team.
Calling Campaigns. The STA Pay team runs targeted calling campaigns around your busiest periods, such as enrolment, graduation and term-end billing. You don't need extra staff, overtime or temp cover, and the results are reported back to credit control after every campaign.
STA Training. This is included from the day you onboard, at no extra cost. AML training is available for as many of your team as you need, and it's fully CPD certified. Vulnerable Person training is also available, with more courses to follow.
Technology is only part of the answer
Universities move large sums through payments, refunds and student accounts every day, and that makes them a target. Third-party payments, refund fraud, "ghost" students and financial exploitation are real and growing risks. Yet the staff closest to these transactions rarely have formal training in spotting them.
Our CPD-certified Anti-Money Laundering in Higher Education programme gives teams the practical knowledge to recognise red flags early, and the confidence to pause, record and escalate a concern.
Secure by design
STA Pay is built on TWPayz, our FCA-authorised, PCI DSS-certified payments partner. Card data is captured and processed entirely by them and never touches your systems, or ours. Customer funds are held in segregated accounts. You sign one contract, with STA, and we hold the relationship, the support line and the accountability.
Why now?
Payment platform pricing is changing. Licence fees are rising across the sector, and some providers are moving to charging a percentage of your turnover.
STA Pay has no licence fee and never will. There's no setup cost, no annual renewal, and no charge for onboarding, integration or support. You receive the full invoiced amount in GBP. The platform is funded by a share of the FX margin on international payments, not by charging the institution.
Already using another provider? Keep it.
You don't have to rip out and replace what you have. Add STA Pay alongside your existing provider, point some of your students at it, and compare the two using your own numbers. There's no exclusivity clause, no switchover project, and no cost to running both. You choose which elements to use, with no obligation to use any or all of them. STA Pay integrates with all major ERP and CRM systems, including Oracle, Workday, SAP, Ellucian (SITS) and TechnologyOne.
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.
Built for you, with you
STA Pay is new, and we intend to keep it that way. Our founding partner universities meet with us regularly, see the roadmap first, and decide what we build next.
STA Pay is completely free for any higher education institution that uses STA for debt recovery. If you'd like to see it in action, book a 30-minute demo. We'll show you the student view, your team's view, what happens when payments stop, and how STA Pay runs alongside your current provider.