We continue to expand our business into the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the rest of Europe, highlighted by record cross-border payment volumes, new service offerings, and the acquisition of a London-based fintech startup earlier this year. We are also hosting our second annual FlyForum UK event in London on November 14th, part of a global thought leadership series.
### FlyForum UK
Flywire will host its second annual FlyForum UK Event in London on November 14. The thought leadership event is part of a global series designed to bring together educational institutions doing business internationally to discuss some of the key issues surrounding international student recruitment, cross-border payment processing, security, and customer service. Discussion topics include compliance, money laundering prevention, and international recruitment support. The event will be held at our Canary Wharf offices in London.
### Increased Number of Payments Processed and Clients Served
Flywire added over 100 new clients in the UK and Ireland over the last 12 months part of a 200+% increase in the volume of payments processed in the last two years across Europe. The expansion includes the addition of many prestigious business schools across Europe. In the last six months alone, we have signed an average of two or more educational institutions every week across ten different European countries.
### Expanded International Coverage
Flywire has also expanded its support for payments across the globe. The additions of Alipay in Asia, and PayPal worldwide give international students attending schools in the UK, Ireland, and Europe more payment options, and make those cross-border transactions more convenient.
### Addition of Trustly as a Preferred Payment Option
Trustly has been integrated as a preferred payment option for businesses and students in Europe. With new digital authentication methods, the bank account has grown in relevance across European markets for both domestic and international payments. Our clients can now offer their international customers a fast and easy way to pay directly from their local bank accounts while streamlining payment and receivable reconciliation for their administrators.
### New Service for International Students in Ireland
We have tailored our platform specifically to meet new requirements for international students who require a visa to study in Ireland. Irish schools are required to set aside funds paid on behalf of some students until the student’s visa application is approved or rejected. Flywire takes this burden off these schools with a new “delayed payment account” service. We can now hold tuition payments until the Irish Naturalization and Immigration Service (INIS) decides on each application, transferring the funds to the school upon visa approval, or returning funds to the payer if denied.
### Acquisition of London-Based Startup, Pace Invoice
In June, Flywire acquired PACE Invoice, a multi-currency invoicing platform. With it, Flywire enables its business, education and healthcare clients to more easily link invoices to cross-border receivables, saving time and costs in invoice preparation and payment reconciliation. The invoicing capability is available to our clients as an option with its cross-border payments and receivables platform — providing end-to-end management from invoice delivery through to payment reconciliation. PACE is an alumnus of Startupbootcamp FinTech London, an accelerator program supporting early-stage tech companies.
### Integration with First Data
In May 2017, First Data and Flywire formed a reciprocal referral relationship, providing clients with seamless integration between Flywire’s international payment and receivables platform, and First Data’s vast client network and technology solutions. The partnership significantly expands card payment options for our clients and enables First Data clients to leverage the Flywire platform to accept large sum international payments from their customers, while providing transparency and easy reconciliation.