Vitru digitizes payments for more than 1 million higher education students with Bemobi
UNIASSELVI and UniCesumar students get new options and the flexibility to pay their tuition simply, all in one place
Vitru Educação is a leader in digital higher education. Through its universities UNIASSELVI and UniCesumar, it serves more than 1 million students and 2,413 distance learning hubs across every Brazilian state, and processes more than R$ 3 billion in payments a year.
Vitru has chosen Bemobi as its new payments partner. Together, the two companies will modernize the institution's payment journey: more ways for students to pay, and the different stages of the financial operation integrated in a single environment, from tuition to renegotiation.
Challenge
In higher education, the payment relationship follows students from enrollment to monthly tuition and, when needed, to renegotiation. It is a charge that repeats every month, for students who need flexibility to pay and who go through enrollment and re-enrollment cycles throughout their program.
In an operation with more than 1 million students, every point of friction in this journey has a direct impact on results: it weighs on conversion, delinquency, cash flow and each student's LTV (Lifetime Value). At the start, a difficult payment can make a student give up halfway through enrollment, which undermines CAC (customer acquisition cost) efficiency.
At this scale, payment stops being an isolated step and becomes part of the strategy.
Solution
Vitru and Bemobi jointly designed a payment journey that takes place within the institution's own digital environments, integrated with its systems.
With Smart Checkout, Bemobi's white-label solution, students choose how to pay their tuition: Pix, credit or debit card, boleto, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Click to Pay, in up to 24 installments. The technology goes into the Student Portal without changing the look of each brand: the experience is still UNIASSELVI and UniCesumar.
Behind the scenes, tokenization and automatic recurring card billing keep payments up to date without students having to pay again every month.
Renegotiation happens in the same journey. Students who need to settle a tuition payment do it in the same environment where they pay.
For students, paying for college becomes a task of just a few clicks, in whatever way makes the most sense that month. For Vitru, payments, renegotiation and financial operations now talk to each other in one place.
Partnership
The rollout takes place in phases. The first brings Smart Checkout to the UNIASSELVI and UniCesumar Student Portal, focusing on tuition payments and renegotiation. In the second, the solution reaches acquisition channels, and the new experience follows students from enrollment onward.
The choice is grounded in Bemobi's specialization in education, one of its main verticals. Bemobi serves more than 480 clients in the sector, including two of the five largest K-12 education institutions and two of the seven largest higher education institutions in the country. This experience gives Bemobi close knowledge of high-frequency recurring billing, the flexibility students need, enrollment and re-enrollment cycles, and renegotiation journeys.
“When we serve more than 1 million students and process more than R$ 3 billion in payments a year, offering a simple, secure and integrated financial experience becomes an important part of the educational experience. This partnership will bring different payment and renegotiation options together in a single environment, giving students more autonomy and flexibility while bringing efficiency and intelligence to a large-scale operation. It is technology acting in a concrete way to make life easier for those who study with us.”
Gabriel Lobo
CFO of Vitru Educação
Payment stops being an operational step and becomes a competitive advantage
With the journey integrated into the institution's systems, Vitru now treats payment as part of its strategy, not as a separate process. In a high-recurrence sector, a smoother experience sustains the relationship with students from the first to the last semester.
From enrollment to tuition, the payment journey becomes a value lever for the operation and prepares Vitru for the next phases of the partnership.
“Our experience with hundreds of institutions allows us to understand where the main points of friction are in the education payment journey and to adapt technology to the sector's specific needs. At Vitru, we will combine this knowledge with a robust platform to make the experience simpler for students and more efficient for the operation.”
Pedro Ripper, CEO of Bemobi
Frequently asked questions about higher education payments
What is the partnership between Vitru and Bemobi?
Vitru Educação (VTRU3), the group behind the UNIASSELVI and UniCesumar brands, has chosen Bemobi (BMOB3) as its payments partner. Bemobi will modernize the institution's payment journey, starting with the integration of Smart Checkout into the Student Portal, with tuition payments and renegotiation in a single journey.
Which payment methods does Smart Checkout bring together at Vitru?
Pix, credit and debit cards, boleto, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Click to Pay, with tokenization, automatic recurring card billing and up to 24 installments.
What is a white-label payment solution for educational institutions?
It is payment technology that works within the institution's own digital channels, with its brands' visual identity. At Vitru, Bemobi's Smart Checkout is integrated into the institution's digital environments and preserves the experience and identity of UNIASSELVI and UniCesumar.
How does digitizing payments help reduce delinquency in higher education?
More payment methods, installments, automatic recurring card billing and renegotiation in the same journey give students more ways to keep their tuition up to date. In the partnership between Vitru and Bemobi, the expectation is to increase conversion, reduce delinquency and improve cash flow.
Does Bemobi only serve educational institutions?
No. Education is one of Bemobi's main verticals, with more than 480 clients in the sector. The company also serves Sabesp, major power distributors such as Copel, Neoenergia, Energisa, Equatorial, Enel and Light, and Brazil's three largest telecom operators: Vivo, TIM and Claro. In Brazil, 16 of the 20 largest private recurring-services companies use Bemobi's solutions.
Want to modernize your educational institution's payments?
Talk to a Bemobi specialist and see how to turn the payment journey into a competitive advantage, from enrollment to tuition.