Paying tuition fees - University of Birmingham

At Birmingham we recognise that students need flexibility when paying fees. We provide a range of payment options to suit everyone. The fee can either be paid in full or spread over manageable instalments by Direct Debit.

If you, your family, or friends are paying your fees:

Once you have completed Online Registration you will receive an invoice confirming your tuition fees for the year, and the due date by which you need to pay or apply to pay in instalments by Direct Debit.

To make a single payment for your tuition fees:

Apply to pay your fees in instalments by Direct Debit, here.

Single payments can be made for multiple years’ tuition fees, for example to benefit from advantageous exchange rates.

Paying by Debit/Credit Card or PayPal

If you would like to pay either tuition or accommodation fees by Debit / Credit Card or PayPal online, click on ‘Make an online payment’ and enter your details. We can accept Visa, MasterCard, Maestro cards and PayPal. All card payments will be processed in Pounds Sterling. Please read the sections below for the terms and conditions of online payments and information on the reliability and security of paying your fee online.

Make an online payment.

If you have received an online offer of accommodation, in order to accept your contract, payment MUST be made through your online accommodation account.

Types of payment accepted:

Help facilities are available here and throughout the process.

Terms and conditions

This is an important section of the website and it explains the terms and conditions you are agreeing to when you pay online.

Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) Best Rate Guarantee offered by FEXCO

Fexco, who provide Dynamic Currency Conversion services for the Student Payment Gateway, have given us some important information about their Best Rate Guarantee.

Secure Payment

If you would like to pay your fees online but are concerned about security and reliability, please be assured that your payment details are automatically encrypted when you enter them. This site is secured using a Thawte SSL Web Server Certificate to offer you secure communications by encrypting all data to and from the site.

Privacy and Data Protection

At the University of Birmingham we recognise that your personal privacy is a serious and important issue and we support the principle of protecting privacy on the Internet within the context of current UK Legislation.

Direct Debit payments

You may opt to spread the cost of your tuition and accommodation fees over monthly or quarterly instalments. We offer either a quarterly or monthly plan that commences from the start of the academic year:

Tuition fees

Quarterly instalments collected on the first working day of November, February, and May
Monthly instalments collected on the first working days of October through May

Accommodation fees

Quarterly instalments collected on the first working day of November, February, and May
Monthly instalments collected on the first working days of October through May
Monthly instalments for 50 week accommodation contracts can be collected on the first working days of October through July

Please note that if you join the University part way through an academic session and choose to pay by Direct Debit you will join the scheme at the next convenient payment date. All tuition fee instalment plans must end after May’s payment to ensure that the fees are collected prior to the end of the current academic session.

To be eligible to pay by instalments, you must have a UK bank account that accepts Direct Debits. If you are unsure of the type of account you have please check with your bank or building society.

Interest charge on tuition fee Direct Debits

If the total of your tuition fee Direct Debit plan is greater than £9,500 a non-refundable interest charge will be applied that will not exceed 1% above the base rate of the Bank of England at the time of the instalment plan application. Accommodation fee Direct Debit plans are not subject to interest charges.

NOTE: The option to pay by Direct Debit instalment plan is only available between October and May and the monthly instalments cannot extend beyond May in each academic session. If you have started your studies mid-way through the academic year then you will join the plan at the next available payment date and all plans will be calculated on the number of months or terms left before May.

Change of bank account details

If you are an existing Direct Debit payer and wish to amend your bank account details please complete this Change of Bank Account Details (PDF form 24,72 kb)

Change of contact details

If you change your address or email address that we use to contact you please email studentfees@bham.ac.uk quoting your plan reference number (this is the number that starts TFXXXXX). If you are a student, then in addition to updating Student Fees you will need to update your details with the University by changing your address online via my.bham

Cancellation

You have the right to cancel your Direct Debit at any time. To cancel your Direct Debit please email studentfees@bham.ac.uk . Please be aware that if you cancel your Direct Debit, the balance of your account will fall due immediately.

Late payment

Direct Debits explained

A Direct Debit is an instruction from you, to your bank or building society, that tells them to pay the University agreed amounts from your account. You will receive a list of the collection dates and the amounts when we set up your Direct Debit (this is called an Advance Notice). As long as you do not cancel your Direct Debit we will continue to automatically collect payments for your fees this way in your future years of study and will send you a new Advance Notice at the start of each academic session. These payments will be taken from your bank account automatically on the collection dates.

When you are paying by Direct Debit instalments, you are protected from errors by the Direct Debit Guarantee.

If you would like to make payment of your tuition fees in instalments by Direct Debit please : ‘Apply Now’ and complete the form.

Please note that you may not receive your schedule of payments (Advance Notification) until you have registered with the University for the current academic session.

Paying by Cheque or Draft

Please be aware that cheque and draft payments can take up to 10 days to clear, we recommend using an alternative payment methods of either Credit / Debit card or PayPal or Direct Bank Transfer.

If you decide to make payment by cheque or draft please ensure that:

This is made payable to the ‘University of Birmingham’ and is drawn on a UK clearing bank.
That your student ID number is quoted on the reverse of the cheque/draft with details of what the payment is for e.g Tuition or Accommodation
Return in person at the Student Fees Enquiry and Income Counter or by post to:

Income Section
Finance Office
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham B15 2TT

Paying by Bank Transfer

You can pay using the University of Birmingham's Bank Transfer Platform powered by our partner Western Union Business Solutions. This service is available to all students home and overseas. If you are an international student this service allows you to make payment in your local or recognised currency and from your home bank account, without worry about exchange rates or bank charges.

Simply enter the amount you wish to pay and you will be provided with a quote in your local currency. If you choose to proceed with the payment, complete the simple form to complete your quote. You can either pay by bank transfer or one of the real-time payment options below. You will have complete visibility of the amount you will pay with certainty that the full amount will reach the University of Birmingham on time.

Benefits of Western Union:

No transaction charges
Favourable exchange rates compared to most banks
Reduced bank fees because transfer is initiated locally
Full payment amount received by University of Birmingham
Track the status of your payment
Real time payment options available including AliPay and UnionPay

Make your payment online using our payment portal.

For more information, download the user guide or watch the video.

Contact Details

Should you have any questions about this process, please contact the University of Birmingham by email studentfees@bham.ac.uk or phone +44 (0)121 414 6074
If you have an queries regarding your payment, please contact Western Union Business Solutions by email or phone +44 (0)1733 871 871. Let them know you are from the University of Birmingham and they will need the full student name, ID number and Payment Reference Number.

If your financial sponsor, such as your employer, the NHS, or home government are paying your fees:

You will be asked to enter the details of your sponsor as part of Online Registration. We will then contact your sponsor for payment.

If you did not provide details of your sponsor as part of Online Registration, please send their full details to our Accounts Receivable team so we can contact them for payment.

Once you have completed Online Registration you will receive an invoice confirming your tuition fees for the year, however, if you have entered the details of your sponsor on Online Registration you do not need to take any further action.

If your fees will be paid by Student Finance:

You will be asked to enter the details of your student loan, including the SSN number they have assigned you, as part of Online Registration. We will await payment of your fees directly from the Student Loan Company.

Once you have completed Online Registration you will receive an invoice confirming your tuition fees for the year, however, if you have entered the details of your student loan on Online Registration you do not need to take any further action.

If you are using a Career Development Loan to pay your fees:

Once you have completed Online Registration you will receive an invoice confirming your tuition fees for the year. Please contact our Accounts Receivable team with the payment schedule agreed with your Career Development Loan provider.

Late payment

The University incurs additional administrative costs when collecting late payments. If we fail to receive payment when requested, a default charge of £50 or 1.5% (whichever is greater) will be charged to cover these costs. For further details on penalty of non-payment please refer to the Admissions and Registration regulations (PDF - 67KB).

Disclosure to third party

If you would like Student Fees to discuss details of your account with a parent, spouse, partner, friend, relative or other third party, the University is required under the Data Protection Act 1998, to obtain the written consent of the student.

If you would like to consent to our Accounts Receivable team discussing your account with a third party please complete the Authorisation Contact Details section within your registration accessible via my.bham portal. Alternatively you are able to print and return the Authorisation Contact Details form.

Until we have received a completed form we will only be permitted to disclose details of an account to the student concerned.

Request a receipt

If you require a receipt for payment made towards your tuition and or your accommodation fees for the current academic year please complete the details on the receipt request:

Receipt request

Request a refund

If you believe that you have overpaid your tuition or accommodation, please complete the ‘Student Refund Request’ form below.

Student Refund Request

Please note that we can only refund the original payer of the account. The original payer may request that an alternative account is credited by completing the Refund Authorisation form.

Please return the forms to our Accounts Receivable team or post to Accounts Receivable, Finance Office, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT.

Tuition fee liability for leavers

Contact:

Payment Method Queries
Email: accountsreceivable@contacts.bham.ac.uk
Tel: 0121 414 6074