By Philipp Buschmann, co-founder and CEO of AAZZUR
I grew up in a time when “subscription” meant magazine deliveries or that pesky gym membership you forgot to cancel. Fast forward to today, and we renew our software, media, and even toothpaste via automatic monthly payments. Everything has gone subscription-first except education. Universities still cling to archaic methods, including lump sum invoices, mailed cheques, and payment portals that resemble those built in 1997.
That disconnect between modern financial habits and educational payment systems isn’t just inconvenient, it’s fundamentally undermining access, efficiency, and innovation. Let me unpack why education desperately needs smarter payment infrastructure, something more aligned with how we live and learn today.
We no longer pay for Netflix once. We expect a seamless, recurring charge. Netflix handles it; we barely think about it. Spotify? Same deal. Education, especially at universities and continuing education providers, still treats students like they’re buying a car: fill out forms, send an IBAN, wait for scholarships, chase up receipts.
It’s 2025, but if I disrupt my university payment, I’m often redirected to a portal that times out if I take longer than three minutes. Payment plans? Sure, if you call finance, fill out paper forms, and wait two weeks. That needs updating.
COVID-era shifts weren’t a one-off glitch; they signalled real change in student behaviour. Many are part-time, gig workers, and switching courses mid-year. They don’t receive lump sum funding or live on parental support, yet institutions still expect full semester tuition upfront.
Using tiered, subscription-style upcoming due invoices could reflect real-life situations. Imagine dividing annual tuition into monthly, quarterly, or even milestone-based payments. Missed February payment? A reminder text or app notification, not a hold on your grades.
Beyond convenience, subscription payments make education more inclusive. Lower-income students often rely on benefit processing, loans, and family support. Those systems don’t always align with academic calendars. When bills are due as one big sum, students must scramble: apply for a loan, wait weeks, and risk being penalised for late payment.
Instead, what if a third-party academic platform offered integration with pay-as-you-go financing, income share agreements, or onboard loan providers? Think Klarna style “pay later” but for tuition. No wonder edtech firms are quietly piloting it, offering to absorb administrative hassle while institutions just keep sending PDF invoices.
From university admin desks to edtech startups, manual payment chasing is a nightmare. Staff spend time reconciling accounts, chasing unpaid invoices, reversing charges, and correcting broken paperwork. That’s labour-intensive and prone to error. A modern payment platform can automate reminders, apply auto reconciliation, integrate with ERP systems, and reduce human error.
For example, a university migrates to a subscription-style tuition collection, with APIs tying into local lenders or campus financial aid systems. Late payments get flagged; a defined follow-up workflow kicks in automatically. Nice, clean, lower cost, and less human burnout.
Subscription systems come with data, lots of it. You can track payment patterns, flag students at risk of dropping out, and identify seasonal stress points. That data can feed into support systems: offer nudges or micro-scholarships to those struggling.
Say a student missed two payments in a row, an automatic trigger could recommend a meeting with student services or offer to set up a personalised plan. And by automating that logic, you remove the stigma and human bias. It’s proactive support, not reactive crisis chasing.
Education isn’t front-loaded at age eighteen; lifelong learning is a career reality now. That’s why micro credentials, nano degrees, boot camps, and even short courses are booming. But paying for each individually, with varied deadlines, platforms, and terms? It’s exhausting.
A unified payment hub could allow students to manage a “skills on demand” subscription: core analytics course this month, electives next, micro project later. Payment flows align with delivery: you only pay when you enrol or start, and everything is tracked in one student wallet. No need to dig out bank details or hunt for vouchers every time.
Integrating flexible payment isn’t all sunshine. Data privacy, regulatory compliance, anti-fraud, PCI DSS, and the ecosystem dealing with finance and education are complex. Institutions need to trust third-party platforms; students need to trust that their data isn’t misused.
That’s why partnership models matter. Universities need to co-design the systems, maintain ownership of student data, and define transparent terms. Not outsourcing everything to a ‘white label fintech’ where control lies off campus.
So far, pilots have shown promise: a handful of UK universities exploring payment flexibility alongside mental health nudges, or income share pilot programmes tied to scholarships with no drop-in completion rates. But it needs investment, especially from public institutions that tend to under-resource admin and tech upgrades.
One exciting example is the work being done by Railsr, a leader in embedded finance. Their infrastructure allows educational platforms and institutions to build tailored financial experiences, such as student wallets, flexible payments, and modular financial services, all integrated directly into the learning journey. It’s a model that aligns perfectly with the evolving expectations of students and the digital transformation ambitions of institutions.
Education payments shouldn’t still feel like fax machine relics. As the world moves to subscriptions, meals, health apps, and entertainment, why not education? Smarter infrastructure offers convenience for students, more efficient admin, proactive support, and agile delivery models.
We’re not just talking about fancy fintech toys. We’re talking about transformational change: breaking down barriers, reducing dropout risk, expanding access, and future-proofing institutions for lifelong learners. That’s why shifting from tuition tyranny to subscription sensibility isn’t just optional. It’s vital.
For students, it means not having to choose between rent and tuition. For universities, it means less chasing after cheques and more space for innovation. And for society, it means education finally matching the pace and shape of our lives in the 21st century.
Let’s stop mailing invoices and start sending smart reminders. Let’s treat education like the living subscription it has become: dynamic, flexible, and accessible. It’s time for a smarter payment infrastructure, because education deserves nothing less.
Philipp Buschmann, Co-Founder and CEO at AAZZUR
Philipp Buschmann is co-Founder and CEO at AAZZUR, a one-stop-shop for smart embedded finance experience. Recognised as a rising star in the FinTech space, AAZZUR’s mission is to build profitable banking whilst at the same time empowering consumers to have access to better informed financial choices.
Philipp is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience of working in Challenger Banking, Financial Services, IT and Energy across the world. He took one of his businesses public – Ignis Petroleum was publicly listed in the US and Germany.
Having started as a developer in Financial Services, Philipp has first-hand experience of the banking revolution from both a technology and financial perspective. His interest in behavioural economics helped inspire AAZZUR’s revolutionary work on customer centricity in banking.
Philipp holds an MBA from the London Business School. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and loves exchanging ideas, insights and discussing FinTech’s future. He has spoken at major Fintech events including Money 20/20, MoneyLive, Finovate, Fintech Matters, and the Future of Retail Banking.
