Western Union Adds New Currencies to Tuition Service

Western Union's Business Services division will offer a global tuition product that allows international students from South Korea and China to pay tuition in their own currencies.

Western Union is launching the product with Hana Bank in South Korea, and ChinaPay and CITIC Bank in China. These institutions will allow participating universities to accept tuition and fees in Chinese Renminbi and Korean Won. Western Union has an existing tuition payments partnership with ChinaPay.

Western Union has a similar tuition program for Indian Rupee payments. The three currencies are used by about half of all international students in the U.S., Western Union said in a July 16 release.

"International education is an important part of the student experience for many in Korea," said Jae-choon Lee, general manager of International Business Operations for Hana Bank, in a press release. "Many Korean students, however, face challenges when paying tuition and student fees, including delayed or incomplete payments."

The new services coincide with the launch of a new Western Union payment portal, GlobalPay for Students. The portal lets students send local currency payments in more than 60 countries. It sends automated emails to students informing them when funds have cleared.