MasterCard is making it easier for Chinese users to pay for tuition and other costs in the US through a new partnership with online payments service Plastiq.
With many US colleges only accepting payments via check or bank transfer, which can be difficult to manage overseas, the service is designed to allow Chinese students studying in the US to avoid the problems of making international payments.
Through the service students can pay using a MasterCard with Plastiq then processing the payment and sending it in a form already accepted by the institution.
MasterCard is also partnering with Planet Payment for the service to convert renminbi to US dollar in real time.
“Parents and students can send tuition and other payments globally with peace of mind as their money is protected by the safety and security of the Mastercard network and delivered to this site powered by Plastiq and Planet Payment,†said Linda Kirkpatrick, executive VP of US market development at MasterCard.
“Our new alliance with these two companies supports the MasterCard objective of making payments smart, simple and safe.â€
According to the Institute of International Education’s ‘Open Doors’ Report 31% of international students in the US are from China.
California-based Plastiq has raised more than $29m from investors renminbi, most recently taking on a $11m venture round led by Khosla Ventures in June.
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