Partner spotlight: Adapt IT powers South Africa’s world-class higher education institutions

With five universities in the current Times Higher Education World University Rankings top 500, South Africa is becoming a key player in the international education economy, drawing 45,000 international students from more than 100 countries across the globe.

Closer to home, South African universities importantly serve as a top destination for students who live in sub-Saharan Africa, where just 9% on average access tertiary education, according to the Times Higher Education (THE). Globally, on average, that number sits at 35%, and in North America, at 84%.

Having solid technology and processes plays a major role in helping these institutions power global and local economies, and develop the next generation of leaders. For decades, Johannesburg-based Adapt IT has been the leading provider of student information systems in the region (along with its strong presence in Ireland, Botswana, Mauritius and Kenya). More than 2 million students and hundreds of administrators rely on the system to effectively and efficiently manage the international student experience – from application, through registration and ongoing enrollment.

In 2022, Adapt IT partnered with Flywire to enhance a critical part of that process – international tuition payments. Flywire is integrated with the ITS Integrator student information system – easing payments for the students and families, and administrative and accounting processes for university staff. Students access Flywire through their student portal to easily and securely make tuition payments online in their currency and payment method of choice, with competitive fee structures that are clear prior to payment. Institutions receive funds in ZAR, with payment automatically posted to the student account in the ITS Integrator software.

“We considered various payment partners, but Flywire was the standout for international payment enablement,” said Luxolo Rubushe, Adapt IT Education MD, in a press release. “The combination of Flywire’s innovative global payment platform and powerful software easily integrates into our system, creating immense benefits for both students and our clients."

Having all data in a single system eases administration, gives finance full visibility into payment status and saves time previously spent manually matching incoming payments with student accounts and balances. Staff also saves time previously spent answering payments-related questions because Flywire provides around-the-clock, multilingual support for payers.

“We understand the level of experience and expertise it takes to ensure integrations work seamlessly with mission critical systems like Adapt IT,” said Flywire’s Simon Read, SVP of Education in EMEA. “Our joint pre-built, thoroughly tested integration not only drives ease of payment for international students but also drives efficiency for administrators automating their backend processes and freeing up their time for other projects. It’s great to see customers already using the integration with many more in discussions with Flywire and Adapt IT to get set up.”