PayPal and Venmo add tuition payments at US colleges through three campus platforms

New integrations with Illumia, Nelnet Campus Commerce and TouchNet let students and families pay tuition and fees through participating institutions' existing payment portals

PayPal and Venmo can now be used for tuition and fee payments through participating US colleges' existing payment portals

PayPal and Venmo are being added as tuition and fee payment options at US colleges and universities through integrations with three higher education commerce platforms.

The integrations with Illumia, Nelnet Campus Commerce and TouchNet, a Global Payments company, are already live at institutions including Bellarmine University, Butler University, Kansas State University and Michigan State University. PayPal says more institutions are expected to join during the year.

For students and families, the practical change is relatively straightforward. Where a participating institution enables the integration, PayPal or Venmo will appear within the school's existing payment portal rather than requiring a separate payment route.

Users can fund those payments from bank accounts, credit cards or PayPal and Venmo balances, according to PayPal.

The rollout puts two consumer payment services already used for day-to-day transactions into one of the larger payments students and families make during higher education. It also means adoption will depend on participating institutions and their campus commerce provider. PayPal and Venmo are not being introduced as universal tuition options across US higher education.

“Tuition is one of the biggest payments a family will make, and it should come with the same flexibility and security that millions of people already count on PayPal and Venmo for every day,” says Frank Keller, President, Checkout Solutions & PayPal. “That's why we're proud to bring that same choice and protection into the reliable systems schools have already built.”

Campus payment platforms provide the route into universities

The three integrations give PayPal access to established higher education payment infrastructure rather than requiring colleges to create a separate PayPal or Venmo system.

Nelnet Campus Commerce says it works with more than 1,100 higher education institutions across the US, providing services including payment processing, refunds, tuition payment plans and online storefronts.

Illumia, formerly Transact + CBORD, says its broader platform supports payments, access, foodservice and credentialing across more than 10,000 higher education, healthcare and senior living institutions.

TouchNet provides campus payment and ID software to higher education institutions internationally, integrating payments and other transactions with university systems.

That institutional side of the transaction is an important part of the proposition. The integrations are designed to add another payment method without moving tuition transactions outside the systems campus finance teams already use.

“A modern tuition payment experience has to work for both sides of the transaction,” says Don Smith, SVP & General Manager of Integrated Payments at Illumia. “Students and families want the flexibility to use payment methods that fit how they manage their money, while institutions need those options to work within the systems and processes their teams already rely on.”

He adds: “This integration helps schools expand choice in a practical way, improving the payer experience without creating a disconnected path for campus teams.”

PayPal says tuition transactions using the services will include encryption and fraud monitoring. Those are company claims about the security of its payment infrastructure rather than evidence supplied about outcomes specifically within university tuition systems.

For Nelnet Campus Commerce, the integration is positioned partly around widening the payment choices available during the financial process of attending college.

“For students and families, tuition is the single biggest financial decision they'll navigate for higher education. Every payment option we add, including PayPal and Venmo, is about meeting them at that moment with more flexibility and less friction, so affordability isn't a barrier to staying enrolled," says Jackie Strohbehn, President of Nelnet Campus Commerce.

PayPal extends its push onto US college campuses

Tuition payments add another strand to PayPal's activity in US higher education.

The expansion arrives a year after PayPal and Venmo reached agreements with the Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences. Those arrangements included institutional revenue-share payments for student athletes through PayPal's platform.

Venmo subsequently expanded its campus activity through name, image and likeness partnerships with student athletes, college-branded cards, student ambassador programs and game-day activations.

The new integrations broaden that college strategy beyond athletics and campus marketing by connecting PayPal and Venmo directly to institutional payment systems used by the wider student body.

TouchNet President Jeremy Loch says the integration is intended to add payment choice while retaining the operational information universities need.

“We are helping campuses deliver greater convenience and operational efficiency in a single experience,” he says. “This integration enables institutions to broaden choice and create a more frictionless payment experience for students and families, while preserving the efficiency and visibility campus teams need to support student success.”