How to pay your deposit – FAQs for postgraduate international applicants

How do I pay my deposit? How do I pay the tuition fee?

We require payment to be received in pounds sterling (£). You can pay your deposit and tuition fees by:

• Debit card/ credit card
• Payment with Flywire – make sure you select the option that states “International Bank Transfer in British Pounds (GBP)” as this will guarantee you the best exchange rate and smallest transfer fee
• International bank transfers – BACS payment details can be found under International applicant/ student - how to pay

Depending on what payment method you used, there is usually a time lag.

• Debit / credit card may take up to 4 days to reach your account
• Payment with Flywire may take up to a week (some countries have processing times)
• International bank transfers may take up to 4 weeks. Due to expected delays in UK student visa processing for 2022-2023 entry, do not use bank transfers if you are paying your deposit within 8 weeks of your course start date.

International applicants/ students already living in the UK, having a UK bank account and wanting to pay by domestic bank transfer, please use the details under UK applicants/student – how to pay.

If paying your tuition fees in full using a credit card or debit card (either online or in-person), the payment must be done before the latest day for acceptance, as stated on your CAS form and prior to your enrolment deadline.

If you would like to send a remittance for deposit payment please email Deposit Remittance, please be aware this is a no response email.

If you are undertaking a programme of study lasting one or more academic years and paying online, you can pay your tuition fees in two instalments by setting up a recurring debit/credit card payment authority.

When paying in instalments, 50% of the fee (after any deposits or discounts have been applied) must be paid on or before enrolment. The final instalment (50%) will be claimed from the relevant card account approximately three calendar months from the due date of the first instalment.

We will inform you of the exact due dates on which the second instalments will be payable when you set up the recurring debit/credit card payment authority. The instalments facility is only offered if you pay online by credit/debit card. For further information, please view our fees policy.

I’m a sponsored student, do I have to pay a deposit to get a CAS?

We can waive the CAS deposit requirement for students whose fees will be fully paid by a recognised sponsor, upon receipt of appropriate evidence. If you are fully sponsored for your course fees, please provide a copy of your sponsorship letter by uploading it to your myHub account.

We can only accept sponsorship letters from recognised sponsors (overseas governments, international businesses, universities, trusts and charities, etc.) and not from friends or family members. If your family will pay your tuition fees, you or your family must pay the deposit.

How do I know if my payment has gone through?

International payments can take up to 4 weeks to be processed and received.

• If payment is by card, you will not receive a confirmation email, our International Admissions Team will be notified of payments and will produce the CAS.
• If payment is by Flywire, you will receive a confirmation of payment via the registration portal.
• For students who don’t need a CAS, the deposit reminders on your myHub account will stop when payment has been received.

What shall I do if I haven’t received my CAS after paying deposit?

If you have not received your CAS after 15 working days, please email the Finance team to confirm if payment has been received.

My deposit amount paid is not showing on registration portal?

This is because the payment has not reached your BU student financial account. Depending on what payment method you used, there is usually a time lag.

• Debit / credit card may take up to 4 days to reach your account
• Payment with Flywire may take up to a week (some countries have processing times)
• International bank transfers may take up to 21 days

Refunds for card payments and Flywire can take up to 4 weeks, and bank transfers can take up to 12 weeks to process (BU will need to perform ‘due diligence’ to comply with the financial regulations within the UK).

Please be aware once you start completing the ‘fees section’ on your registration portal, this will need to be completed in full, without refreshing the page, logging out or clicking ‘back’ on the page. Otherwise, the deposit amount paid will not reflect on the portal the next time you access the registration.

Please also note if the finance team has advised you with a deposit issue, you must complete the fees section on the same day, without logging out or refreshing the page otherwise this information will not be saved.

Scholarships or special discounts are not showing on registration portal?

Scholarship not showing: Please contact our Admissions team to check that you are eligible. They will be able to complete any allocation and ask you to re-commence your online registration/payment within a couple of days.

Student/Staff discount not showing: This discount may not be showing as you will need to provide evidence to claim these discounts. Normally, we require a scanned/photo of Birth/Marriage Certificate depending on the discount claimed.

Please check our Student Fees Policy to review eligibility, and email Finance team with relevant proof, if successful the discount will be applied and you will be informed to re-commence your online registration/payment.

Your tuition fees are presented to you online showing: the standard fee, less deposit paid (if applicable), less scholarship (again if applicable), less other special discounts.

I have a query about options for fees instalments, who can I contact?

We do not offer any other instalment plans apart from the two noted above. The UK Government requires that all international students who require a student visa must have access to funds for both tuition and living expenses for the duration of your studies. This means you must evidence that you have funds in your name to cover tuition, accommodation and maintenance before applying for said visa and enrolling onto your course. Asking for fee instalments may suggest you are in breach of both Home Office and BU T&Cs. If you do not have enough funds despite providing evidence to the UK Home Office, you may want to consider deferring your entry until the following year.

If your query is about how to make a payment for your fees instalments and you need more information than what's presented on this FAQ page, please contact the Finance team.

What is refund policy for deposit and fee payments?

The Student Fees Policy includes full details about our refund policy.

The deposit is non-refundable except in certain circumstances as outlined in Fees Policy (please see Section 3).

Cancellation of studies and our refund policy for fee payments can be found in Section 7 of the Student Fees Policy.

Where can I find out more about fee discounts?

We offer fees discounts to BU graduates, student family, staff and staff family discount, please visit our fee discounts for further information.

What additional steps do I need to take if I’m from a sanctioned country

If you are from one of the sanctioned countries listed below, please note that you will need to complete the Barclays pre-payment form and send it to Finance Team.

Sanctioned countries

• Cuba
• Iran
• Syria
• Crimea
• Venezuela.