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Studying Abroad? Tips for Paying Overseas Tuition Fees
Living and studying thousands of miles from home can be overwhelming. Luckily, making your tuition payments doesn't need to be.
23 juli 2020 — 4 min read
International study is an exciting, enriching experience for students around the world. From having access to new educational institutions to exploring another culture outside the classroom, it’s the highlight of many students’ educations.
However, living and studying thousands of miles from home can be tough, and one of the biggest headaches of studying abroad is finding a way to make your international tuition payments. You want to be sure that your payments will:
Arrive on time
Not incur any extra cost to you
Be easy to make and manage.
For these reasons, we recommend using online money transfer to make your international payments. How can online money transfer help with the issues we just mentioned? Don’t worry—we’ll break it down for you.
Avoid bank rates and fees
Tuition can be pricey on its own. High transaction fees and unfavorable exchange rates can quickly add up, your wallet could end up taking an even bigger hit. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Think past the banks or wire transfers. When you use an online money transfer provider like Xe, your rates will come straight from live currency market data, without any extra margins added to favor the provider.
Will the rates always be in your favor? Not necessarily. But there are a few things you can do to account for market motion...
Have a plan for currency fluctuations
The currency markets are always moving, and thus so are the exchange rates. It can be frustrating to realize that one term’s tuition payment could be more costly than the previous one, and it might seem like the rate you get is down to a coin-toss.
Exchange rates are a complex thing. Instead of giving yourself a headache trying to understand how the markets work and predicting the best time to transfer, consider making use of one of these alternative transfer methods:
Forward contract - Are today’s rates good, but your tuition payment isn’t due for a couple of months? Set a date and lock in today’s good rate for a future transfer. Even if the rates aren’t in your favor when time comes to make your transfer, it doesn’t matter; you’ve got your good rate.
Regular Payments Abroad (RPA) - The nice thing about tuition payments is that you know you need to make them, you know how many you’ll be making, and you know when they’ll be due. With RPA, you can lock in one rate and set up a series of automatic transfers. The best part? Once they’re set, they’re done, and you won’t need to worry about making your future payments.
Rate Alerts - Do you have a local bank account in your new country of residence? You might want to set up Rate Alerts to let you know when the rates are good. Even if you don’t need to make a payment just yet, you could make the transfer in advance so you know you’ll have the local currency when the deadline comes.
Take care of your payments quickly
You don’t want to miss a payment deadline, and long processing times can cause some extra stress. Instead of waiting in line, working within short business hours, or fretting over whether your payment will reach its destination without any hiccups, try out a method that can be initiated from anywhere at any time, and always travels quickly.
Get support if you need it
Studying thousands of miles away from home can be overwhelming, and you shouldn’t have to stress about whether your tuition payments are going to reach your school. When you make an online money transfer, your journey doesn’t stop once you hit “confirm”. You can track your transfer no matter where it is, and you can speak with expert support over the phone if you have any questions or additional needs regarding your transfer.
Interested in learning more? Sign up for a free account today to get started.