A new bank account designed for international students was launched in the U.S., FinTechFutures reported on Friday (Aug. 23).
North Loop is offering checking accounts and debit cards with partner Evolve Bank and Trust designed to combat the financial problems that overseas students face.
Entrepreneur and former international student Tahem Veer Verma created the no-fee account so that students could sign up without a U.S. social security number. Students can apply before leaving their home country and get a debit card on arrival.
Verma says the company has received $2.5 million in loan applications, and some 20,000 students have already applied to North Loop.
“We are starting small, aiming for 30-40,000 this year — and in the next few years, we’ll scale it up, so that by year three, we’ll have 500,000 users on the platform, some of whom will be graduated by then,” Verma says.
North Loop also offers a loan and refinancing scheme and an interest-saving referral scheme.
Also addressing the problems international students face is Flywire, a payment company focused on educational institutions around the world. It expanded its partnership in April with TRUE North, the Canadian provider of online systems for information management, tracking, collaboration and reporting for international student programs.
Flywire said the companies have integrated their offerings, connecting the application, enrollment, cross-border payment and receivables processes to provide schools, international agencies and student families increased transparency and convenience. Flywire said the two companies will serve school districts in Canada to better support the recruitment of international students. Canadian school districts are seeing growth in international students, which is increasing the complexity of supporting the application and payment process from several foreign countries. With the TRUE North/Flywire offering, schools can simplify the process for international students to enroll as well as make and receive payments.