Transforming Educational Finance with Transact Sponsor Payments 

Higher Ed institutions have often faced challenges with the manual interventions and processes necessary to manage sponsor payments for student tuition and fees. These outdated processes often result in administrative headaches and less-than-ideal experiences for both students and sponsors. Recognizing the critical need for an innovative approach, Transact Campus has developed Sponsor Payments. This groundbreaking solution leverages advanced technology and focuses on user experiences to streamline financial transactions, making the management of sponsor payments seamless and efficient.  

Transact Sponsor Payments introduces a significant change from existing methods, providing a complete overhaul that directly addresses the sponsor payment challenges. By utilizing cutting-edge technology and emphasizing user needs, the platform simplifies, streamlines, and clarifies the payment process like never before. Higher Ed institutions are now equipped with a tool that transforms a historically labor-intensive operation into a smooth, error-free experience, allowing them to focus more on their educational goals.  

Why Modernizing Sponsor Payments is Essential  

The gap between manual sponsor payment processes and the digital efficiency today's students and sponsors expect is growing wider. Laura Newell-McLaughlin, EVP, Integrated Payments and Campus Commerce at Transact, describes the challenge: “University payment systems for third-party sponsor payments have historically been manual and time-consuming." She emphasizes that Transact Sponsor Payments brings a much-needed tool to the table, simplifying the sponsor billing and payment process for everyone involved.  

This need for modernization is not only underscored by the expectations of younger generations, especially Gen Z students, but also by the evolving landscape of employer contributions to education. As employers continue to recognize the value of offering tuition reimbursement benefits, sponsored payments are expected to grow quickly in the coming years. In 2022, nearly half (48%) of employers offered undergraduate or graduate tuition assistance as a benefit, signaling a significant shift towards educational support in the workplace.  

Gen Z students demand modern payment capabilities within their educational journey, with studies showing that 74% of them prioritize ease of payment on campus and online as essential to their college experience. This intersection of growing employer sponsorship and student expectations for digital payment solutions highlights the critical need for educational institutions to modernize their payment processes. Adopting payment solutions like Transact’s Sponsor Payments that resonate with a digitally native student body ensures that financial operations are not just efficient but also aligned with the needs and expectations of today's students and their sponsors.  

A Closer Look at Transact Sponsor Payments  

At its heart, Transact Sponsor Payments is a robust payment portal that transforms the task of making bulk payments for student tuition and fees from tedious to straightforward. The platform shines by offering:  

• End-to-End Digital Reconciliation: Automating the third-party sponsor payment process to a student account to increase accuracy and lessen manual workloads.  
• Seamless Integration: Compatibility with existing payment systems and various Student Information Systems ensures a smooth experience for administrators and sponsors across diverse university environments.  
• Comprehensive Visibility and Control: Providing real-time insights into every payment stage allows for detailed oversight, from the macro of total dollars owed to the micro of individual line items on a student account. 

Zak Wiatr, Senior Product Manager at Transact Campus, highlights the platform's foundational goal: "Our aim was to embed a dedicated sponsor payment solution within the Transact payment platform from the outset, enhancing the user experience through a modern UI and capitalizing on advanced functionalities."  

Expanding the Benefits of Sponsor Payments  

Transact Sponsor Payments extends beyond the role of a mere payment portal to address the multifaceted challenges of sponsor payments comprehensively. It achieves this by:  

• Automating Processes and Self-Service: Minimizing manual data entry and empowering sponsors to manage their payments independently reduces the administrative load and elevates sponsor satisfaction.  
• Elevating Technology and Security: The use of state-of-the-art technology ensures seamless integration with current systems, providing a secure environment for all transactions.  
• Enhancing Communication and Relationships: By improving communication between students, sponsors, and universities, the platform strengthens relationships and fosters a more unified financial ecosystem.  

Zak speaks to the platform's significant impact on operational efficiency: "The primary benefit for higher education offices is the substantial time savings, translating to fewer manual tasks and less back-and-forth with sponsor accounts payable offices."  

Bridging Experience: From Higher Education to Transact Innovations  

Transact Campus's approach to developing products like Sponsor Payments is deeply rooted in collaboration and real-world insights. By engaging over 25 higher-ed client partners and their staff through research and user testing sessions, the team at Transact Campus has been able to pinpoint the most significant challenges faced in managing sponsor payments and design digital solutions that address these issues effectively. This partnership between Transact Campus and its clients is pivotal in creating innovative solutions that have a tangible business impact. 

The practical experience of team members such as Mason Rick and Linda Wilson further strengthens Transact Campus's capacity to understand and address the financial challenges within higher education. Having worked in university finance roles before joining Transact, they bring invaluable insights into the complexities of sponsor payments and the need for streamlined processes. 

Mason shares his perspective from his time as an Assistant Bursar at Xavier, emphasizing the considerable effort managing sponsor payments used to require: "It demanded immense time, effort, and attention to detail." He praises the efficiency of Transact Sponsor Payments, highlighting how it has transformed a potentially full-time task into a process that can be managed "in just a few hours a week." 

Similarly, Linda reflects on her experience as the Director of Finance and Systems and Services at Gonzaga, underlining the critical role of sponsor payments as a revenue source for universities. She points to Transact Sponsor Payments as a key solution in making revenue collection more straightforward, thereby simplifying a crucial aspect of university finance. 

Together, the partnership with clients and the firsthand experiences of team members like Mason and Linda illustrate how Transact Sponsor Payments is designed to meet the real-world needs of higher education institutions, simplifying sponsor payment processes and enabling a focus on broader educational goals.  

Feedback and Outcome  

The launch of Transact Sponsor Payments has been met with enthusiasm across the education sector, signaling a transformative shift in managing sponsor payments. Laura Newell-McLaughlin encapsulates its value: "With Transact Sponsor Payments, we're simplifying the billing and payment process for universities, sponsors, and students." This melding of advanced technology with the specific needs of educational finance exceeds modern demands for streamlined operations, setting a new standard.  

Looking Ahead  

Transact Campus's commitment to merging technology with educational finance needs is evident in the Sponsor Payments system. The expertise of professionals like Mason and Linda has been instrumental in crafting a solution that meets the real-world needs of its users, promising a more streamlined and transparent approach to sponsor payment management. 

The debut of Transact Sponsor Payments marks the beginning of a new chapter in higher education finance, characterized by digital innovation and streamlined processes. This platform stands as a guiding light for universities and sponsors as they transition to digital, promising improved operational efficiencies and a better student experience.