[Case Study] How Kingston University London increased payment plan completions to 92% while saving six-figures with Flywire

For decades, higher education finance departments have been cast as back-office gatekeepers—a necessary, yet often frictional, step in the student journey. However, for Chris Billington, Head of Finance Shared Services at Kingston University London, that perception was not just outdated, it was a barrier to the university’s institutional goals. Under his leadership, the finance function has been repositioned as a driver of the student experience. 

Kingston needed technology capable of supporting a more connected student journey. Billington chose to integrate Flywire’s Student Financial Software (SFS) with its Unit4 ERP system, streamline tuition and accommodation payments, and deliver six-figure merchant fee savings. As the university’s exclusive payment partner, Flywire will also be integrated with Tribal SITS, to accelerate recruitment decisions at the applicant stage and provide seamless interactions throughout a student’s financial journey with Kingston.

The problem: Unit4 SaaS migration presents opportunity for tuition management review

When Kingston University’s legacy Unit4 Income Manager module reached end-of-life during a planned Unit4 cloud migration, the university faced a critical decision. They could either replicate their existing setup for card payments, or leverage the opportunity to rethink payments to align with the university strategy. 

In its then-current setup, payments were fragmented and costly, with different payment methods managed through a patchwork of banks and providers. Getting visibility into payment status was challenging and the team struggled to answer an unwieldy volume of student enquiries. 

So, instead of simply seeking out a direct replacement that “just took payments,” Billington and his team looked for a solution that would transform finance into a strategic driver of the student experience.

By transitioning core tuition and accommodation payments to SFS, Kingston has:

• Eliminated balance enquiries: The SFS/Unit4 integration means students have access to real-time account information so they can see how much has been paid and what is due, including payment plans. With self-service access, balance enquiries have been virtually eliminated. 
• Reduced student support escalations: Staff can now easily access the information they need to answer balance and payment queries at the first point of contact. And, by delivering a more cohesive student experience, the volume of escalated queries has reduced so staff now have more time to better support students with complex needs. 
• Simplified signposting and expanded choice: With Flywire handling all payments, payment options are clear.  Kingston students, and their families, can now pay securely in 140+ local currencies using their preferred local payment method.
• Increased payment plan completion by more than 50%: With real-time account data, students are more confident setting up payment plans, and also making incremental payments to reduce their balance. Consequently, completion rates for payment plans have surged from 60% to 92%.
• Saved hundreds of thousands on merchant fees: Consolidating domestic and international payments with Flywire has delivered six-figure merchant fee savings and improved margins, while automation has slashed reconciliation time to almost nothing. 

What’s next: Future-proofing the student journey

Billington is keenly aware that administrative friction during the payment process often leads to student drop-off, so he is actively working to improve payments for Kingston University applicants. By integrating Flywire into the Tribal SITS e:Vision applicant portal, Kingston’s admissions team will gain real-time visibility into applicant payments and accelerate visa-critical administration by automating CAS issuance upon confirmation of a deposit payment. But this is about more than efficiency, it is about preserving the applicant’s intent, which, in today’s highly competitive HE landscape, is critical for growth. 

Full deployment will allow the university to centralise all transactions—application fees, deposits, tuition, accommodation, and graduation costs—within the Flywire platform, ensuring students a seamless, consistent financial experience from first application to final degree.