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College is a constellation of Venmo requests \u2014 your roommate\u2019s cut of the utilities, your half of an Uber ride, the ticket to your friend\u2019s a capella performance that you don\u2019t actually want to go to. On Wednesday, Venmo\u2019s parent company PayPal announced that you will now be able to use its services to pay your tuition.<\/p>\n
Venmo and PayPal are partnering with the education payment platforms Illumia, Nelnet Campus Commerce, and TouchNet, which collectively serve thousands of colleges and universities, giving students and families another way to pay their tuition. <\/p>\n
Yes, you can make one of the largest payments of your life on the same app where you can see that someone from high school is paying for \u201cleaf emoji, fire emoji, smoke emoji,\u201d whatever that could possibly mean. You might open the Venmo app when your friend gets you a latte, then think, \u201cOh, right, I haven\u2019t paid my tuition yet! Let me do that real quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor students and families, tuition is the single biggest financial decision they\u2019ll navigate for higher education,\u201d said Nelnet Campus Commerce president Jackie Strohbehn in a statement. \u201cEvery payment option we add, including PayPal and Venmo, is about meeting them at that moment with more flexibility and less friction, so affordability isn\u2019t a barrier to staying enrolled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, someone said it! When eighteen-year-olds who make $10 per hour at the campus library confront their five-figure tuition bills, they\u2019re really just wishing that someone would meet them at that moment with more flexibility and less friction.<\/p>\n
Kids these days don\u2019t know how good they have it. We used to go into debt via unfamiliar payment portals, but now, you can deplete your bank account within the comfort of the Venmo or PayPal app. <\/p>\n
Back in my day, we didn\u2019t have an \u201cintegration [that] enables institutions to broaden choice and create a more frictionless payment experience for students and families,\u201d to borrow TouchNet president Jeremy Loch\u2019s phrasing. Gone are the days when students will lack access to \u201ca seamless experience that delivers value for both tuition payers and institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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