Established in 1858 by Yukichi Fukuzawa as a small school of Western learning, Keio University has a history as Japan’s very first private institution of higher learning. Over 160 years since its founding, Keio has thrived under its founder’s motto of jitsugaku, or empirical science, as it continues to transform Japan as a modern nation through contributions to education, research, and medicine.
Keio University has established partnerships with over 340 universities and institutions of higher education worldwide, and is enhancing student exchange, academic exchange, and research collaboration activities. In order to give their students the opportunity to develop the skills and expertise necessary to become leaders of the global society, Keio University offers 30 double degree programs with overseas universities, the most among Japanese universities (as of May 2024). They also offer approximately 1,000 courses that are taught in English on their campuses. Furthermore, as a member of university consortiums such as the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global University Leaders Forum (GULF), U7+Alliance, Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), Japan-UK Research and Education Network for Knowledge Economy Initiative (RENKEI), and ASEAN+3UNet, they collaborate with overseas universities and actively carry out various activities as a university that contributes to both the global and regional communities.
Challenge
Overseas remittances become more complex with university internationalization
At Keio University, the Finance Department manages tuition payments for all regular students across its faculties and graduate schools. International bank transfer was the sole method available for overseas students to pay their tuition, but this posed several challenges. High administrative costs, uncertainty, lack of transparency, and the need for extensive personal attention led to a burdensome level of email correspondence between the university, students, and their guarantors. The lack of standardized remittance data further complicated the process, often requiring manual identification of payers.
While Keio University actively welcomes international students and offers English-language degree programs in various faculties and graduate schools, the reliance on international bank transfers, with their inherent need for individual processing, placed increasing pressure on administrative staff. As the university expanded its international outreach, the complexities and inefficiencies associated with overseas remittances became more challenging.
Solution
Streamlining international payments for operational efficiency
To address the challenges posed by international bank transfers, Keio University began exploring international payment solutions. After comparing various providers, the university ultimately selected Flywire, drawn to the convenience of its dashboard and around-the-clock multilingual support for students and guarantors.
Initially, the Finance Department would email payment links to students who expressed interest in using Flywire. In the spring semester of 2023, the first full-fledged implementation of Flywire saw over 200 students utilize the platform for tuition payments. This resulted in improved convenience for both the university and the payers without causing any disruption.
“We have significantly reduced the number of email exchanges between students, guarantors, and the university, as well as the occurrence of discrepancies in received amounts, which were common with international bank transfers. We have also reduced the number of unidentified incoming payments."
Integration of the tuition payment portal and Flywire
Following the initial success of Flywire, Keio University sought further operational optimization by integrating the tuition payment portal site with Flywire. Planning and conceptualization began in August 2023, with implementation starting in October. With the support of a dedicated Flywire team, the implementation was completed within six months, and the integrated system went live for tuition collection in April 2024.
As a result of this integration, the starting point for tuition payment, whether domestic or international, was unified within the tuition portal, creating a simple and easy-to-understand system for all students. For the Finance Department, it eliminated the need to distinguish between domestic and international payers beforehand, allowing them to provide uniform guidance regardless of the student’s preferred payment method.
Furthermore, because Flywire’s payment data is now linked with student and billing data from the university’s internal systems, Keio successfully automated the reconciliation of incoming payments.
What impressed us most during the Flywire implementation was the dedicated team’s support throughout the system integration process. Their assistance was prompt, efficient, and flexible.
The Flywire product itself is designed for easy integration, requiring minimal data fields and a simple connection method. This straightforward approach made it easy to understand, even for those without specialized IT expertise.
Implementation Results
- Processed over 570 million yen in tuition payments, sent in 25 different currencies from 30 countries.*
- Flywire handled 808 transactions annually.
- Significantly reduced previous issues associated with overseas transfers, such as discrepancies in payment amounts and individual inquiries.
* Results from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025