Flywire Partners with DISCO to Digitize International Education Payments in Japan

• Flywire is DISCO’s exclusive international payments provider for enrollment and application fees, integrates directly into DISCO’s E-Apply system

• DISCO’s network of 1,000+ universities, colleges and vocational schools expands Flywire’s footprint in Japan

Today, Flywire Corporation (Flywire) (Nasdaq: FLYW) a global payments enablement and software company, announced a new strategic partnership with DISCO, a market leader in international recruitment and career development, to optimize the cross-border education payments experience for students studying in Japan.

As the exclusive international payments partner for DISCO, Flywire integrates directly into DISCO’s e-Apply system, which streamlines the application and enrollment payment experience for international students, and improves operational efficiencies for university administrators, all from its familiar interface.

Japan sets targets to supercharge inbound international student enrollment

Japan is one of the most popular countries in Asia for international students, boasting a rich culture, cuisine and language, as well as the third largest economy in the world by GDP. Data from the Japan Student Services Organization suggests that at its pre-pandemic peak in 2019, there were 312,214 international students in Japan. China, Vietnam and Nepal make up the top three sending countries.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a new initiative organized by the Japanese government aims to reignite interest among international students, with the goal to host 400,000 international students by 2033. The Japanese government’s plans include more active recruitment and improved language and career transition support, which aim to rebuild the foreign enrollment base.

Headquartered in Tokyo, DISCO is one of the leading student application solutions for the National / Public university system in Japan, providing more than 1,000 universities, colleges and vocational schools with a variety of services from student recruitment and marketing, to professional training and consulting. Given the focus from the Japanese government on international student recruitment, DISCO was looking for an international payment partner to streamline the payment process for application and enrollment fees. Specifically, DISCO clients wanted to provide students with more payment options, and were looking for ways to reduce the manual reconciliation process for administrators.

“Flywire stood out not only for its powerful payment technology and seamless integration, but also for its knowledge of the Japanese higher education sector,” said Masao Niidome, President of DISCO. “Flywire’s innovative payment processing combined with our additional services will enhance the payment experience for our customers and their students.”

Flywire embeds into DISCO e-Apply to accelerate efficiencies for students and institutions

With Flywire’s payment technology embedded directly into DISCO’s e-Apply application management system, all friction is removed from the entire payment experience. Students have a seamless, easy way to pay for their application and enrollment fees in their local currency, while enjoying low exchange rates, convenient online payment tracking, and superior customer service. Additional benefits of the Flywire integration with DISCO application system for both universities and students include:

• Easy implementation: The pre-built integration will simplify the implementation timeline and minimize technical resources typically required for integrating a payment gateway.
• Accelerate reconciliation: With real-time post backs enabled, applicants and administrators have full transparency throughout the payment process.
• Reduce short balance and overpayments: Flywire shows how much the student owes in their local currency and presents Flywire’s robust set of local payment options powered by its global payment network. Each school can also lock how much the payer sends, as well as set limits to prevent large over-payments.

“We are thrilled to partner with DISCO and become their exclusive international payments partner,” said Mina Fakhouri, VP of Sales, APAC at Flywire. “Home to many leading institutions and a top destination for international students, Japan is an important region for us, and partnering with DISCO will extend the reach of our solutions to improve the student financial experience.”