PayPal enables tuition payments via Venmo at US colleges

Paying tuition has never been anyone’s idea of a good time. Now, at least, it can be done through an app already on most students’ phones. PayPal has rolled out a feature allowing students and families to pay college tuition and fees using both PayPal and Venmo at participating US universities. The integration is live now at several institutions, with a broader rollout planned. How it actually works The feature runs through partnerships with three major education payment processors: Illumia, Nelnet Campus Commerce, and TouchNet. These companies handle the backend payment infrastructure for hundreds of universities across the country, which means PayPal doesn’t need to cut individual deals with every school on its list. Students log into their school’s existing online payment portal and simply select PayPal or Venmo as a checkout option. Funding can come from multiple sources tied to those accounts. Michigan State University and Bellarmine University are among the schools where the feature is already operational. Why PayPal is betting on campus payments This isn’t PayPal’s first move into higher education. The company previously established itself as a preferred payment partner for ...