4 Opportunities to Improve Student Services in 2025

In our fifth annual Student Financial Experience Report, students from around the world — the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, specifically — were asked to weigh in on their experiences with the tuition payment process, communication with their institution, and how mobile technology impacts their daily lives. More importantly, they also shared what they felt could be improved.

Based on five years of data, here are four areas that higher education leaders can explore to help improve the campus experience and support student success.

1. Evaluate current payment methods, add mobile pay and APMs where available

Mobile pay usage in the United States has skyrocketed in recent years. Since we started asking students how often they use mobile pay (i.e. Apple Pay, Google Pay) for everyday purchases in 2021, the percentage of students who said sometimes to always increased more than 350%. As of 2024, three out of every four students in the United States say they use mobile pay sometimes, frequently or always.

When asked the same question in regard to bill payment, usage among United States students has also increased dramatically. The majority of students (55.5%) reported that they use mobile pay for bill payment sometimes, frequently, or always.

Source: 2024 stats from 2025 Student Financial Experience Report; 2021-2023 stats from respective Student Financial Experience Reports. The format of the question was changed in the 2024 survey. These table fields are formatted to reflect that change.

While mobile pay usage has greatly increased in the United States, other countries continue to lead the way with mobile pay. When it comes to banking online and paying through their phones, Australian students top the charts. More than half of the Australians we surveyed claim that they not only use mobile pay frequently — they actually use it exclusively. Canadian students and students in the U.K. aren’t far behind, with as many as 64% to 80% saying they at least use it regularly.

As global trends shift in favor of mobile pay and other alternative payment methods, there is an opportunity for colleges and universities in the United States to meet students where they are in terms of how they prefer to pay. More importantly, the convenience of modern payment methods can help make the payment experience less stressful.

If you have questions about the payment methods available in TouchNet solutions, contact us here.

2. Make the shift to digital and mobile campus IDs

It’s no surprise that the number of students who say they prefer digital and mobile student IDs continues to rise. Digital IDs and student IDs in digital wallets have been at the forefront of the technology discussion for campus ID systems for the past several years.

This year’s Student Financial Experience Report confirms that while the majority of U.S. students (86%) still carry a physical student ID card (whether alone or in addition to a digital version), fewer than one third actually prefer physical cards.

Source: 2025 Student Financial Experience Report

Beyond student preference, institutions are seeing other benefits to utilizing digital and mobile campus IDs. With a mobile-first approach, campuses can reduce — and, in some cases, eliminate — the need to print physical cards, in turn reducing costs. Additionally, colleges and universities can also enhance campus security with digital and mobile IDs because access can be more effectively managed with roles-based permissions. Misplaced student IDs can be immediately deactivated.

To learn more about how mobile IDs can impact your campus, check out the following resources:

[ON-DEMAND WEBINAR] Voice of the Student: Understanding Student Expectations for a Mobile Campus Experience

Learn how mobile technology has enriched their experiences — from how they navigate campus resources, make purchases and utilize dining facilities, and more, all from their mobile device.
Watch Now

[ON-DEMAND WEBINAR] Going Mobile with Apple and Android

From initial assessments of mobile-readiness to operational changes and marketing on launch day, hear first-hand what is needed to implement a mobile ID solution on your campus.
Watch Now

3. Use transactional data to inform decisions and support students

Across the board and in all markets, the vast majority of students (86.2%) are okay with their institution actively tracking and using student ID data to improve campus amenities. However, they prefer a system that is fully transparent about what is tracked and how it will be used.

We found some slight differences between markets, most notably in the number of students who responded that they are uncomfortable with their data being tracked. Students in the United States were most likely to respond this way compared to students in the U.K., Canada, and Australia (14% in the U.S. compared to 5.8%, 10.9%, and 8% respectively).

Source: 2025 Student Financial Experience Report

Analyzing trends in student data can allow for opportunities to engage with students earlier when they may need more support. Additionally, monitoring activity and traffic to campus services can help with resource allocation such as staffing up during peak hours. To learn more about how colleges and universities are using campus ID data, read our blog, “Using Campus ID Data to Transform Your Campus”, or watch our webinar, “Unlocking the Power of Your Card System Data”.

Before analyzing trends in student activity and using data to make decisions, higher education administrators should engage with campus stakeholders to ensure data practices are compliant with local and federal data privacy regulations.

4. Explore top areas in which students believe technology can improve campus services

Institutions are in a position to evaluate the student experience in all aspects of campus life. Everything from the tuition payment process to purchasing campus services through each student account may be enhanced with improved technology.

Across the board, students in all countries indicated that either the “tuition and financial aid process” or “registrar and course registration” was the top area that could be improved with technology. While those areas may be paramount, we found several areas outside of tuition and course registration that represent opportunities for colleges and universities to enhance the overall student experience. Responses varied broadly between countries, but services that consistently ranked well include: non-tuition financial processes (meal plan, parking, etc.), on-campus retail, dining options, and academic support such as tutoring.

Source: 2025 Student Financial Experience Report

With meal plans, dining options, and campus stores being among the top areas with room for improvement, integrated campus card and payment solutions can offer more convenient experiences for students.

To learn more about how campus technology can improve the student experience, check out these resources:

[ON-DEMAND WEBINAR] The Basics: Campus Dining and Meal Plan Management

Students connect through community areas and often rely on dining halls and meal plan programs for all of their meals, especially students living on campus. Having a unified strategic approach to your dining and meal plans can improve not only the student experience, but also enhance the administrative process.
Watch Now

[BLOG] How to Manage Campuswide E-Commerce in a Single Platform

The benefits of rolling out a single platform for e-commerce include a convenient student experience as well as streamlined reconciliation. But how do you get started? In this blog, we review several key considerations for managing a campuswide e-commerce solution.
Read Now

Read the Full Report

There’s so much more to learn in the 2025 Student Financial Experience Report. With technology and student behavior constantly changing, it’s important to stay ahead of what’s next. We always prefer to hear from the students themselves, and that’s why we continue to conduct this research annually. For deeper insights, we invite you to check out the unabridged report here.