Western Union has partnered with payments firm Geoswift to enable the WeChat Pay capability for its WU GlobalPay for Students offering.

The move will allow academic institutions to offer Chinese students studying abroad to gain access to several payment options such as WeChat Pay, Alipay, UnionPay and Tenpay.

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The updated GlobalPay for Students platform was introduced in 2017 to allow academic institutions reconcile, refund and track payments from international students effectively.

Western Union Business Solutions senior vice president, strategy and product Adam Tiberi said: “Being able to use WeChat Pay and other popular payment platforms is crucial for Chinese students. As the largest international student population in the world, Chinese students expect universities to offer them simple and convenient payment experiences.

“Our latest update to GlobalPay for Students allows our education customers to provide an enhanced experience for their Chinese students.”

According to a report by the Centre for China and Globalization, one in four international students worldwide in 2015 came from China. A separate report by the United Nations found payments through WeChat increasing from $11.6bn in 2012 to around $1.2 trillion in 2016.

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Geoswift founder and CEO Raymond Qu added: “China accounts for about a quarter of international students in the world. The country is instrumental in shaping the trends for international student payments. This poses a huge opportunity for academic institutions across the world to attract Chinese students by providing appropriate payment opportunities. We are delighted to build on our existing alliance with Western Union to further enable this opportunity.”