Novatti Processes $33.6 Million in Transactions via UNSW Alipay Integration

Alipay Integration Delivers Strong Early Results at UNSW

Novatti Group Limited (ASX:NOV) has marked a significant milestone with its Alipay integration at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), launched in October 2025. The service, enabling international students to pay tuition fees via Alipay in Chinese Yuan with settlement in Australian dollars, has already processed $33.6 million in Gross Transaction Value (GTV) and generated $0.5 million in revenue by the end of April 2026. This early performance has outstripped initial expectations, underscoring the appetite for streamlined cross-border payment solutions in the education sector.

The integration taps into UNSW’s large international student base of approximately 27,700, offering a locally familiar payment method that simplifies the tuition fee payment process. Novatti’s platform works in tandem with UNSW’s enterprise management system, Xetta, which is used by over 30 tertiary institutions across Australia. This opens a pathway for rapid scaling of the service to potentially 80% of Australian universities, a move that could significantly boost Novatti’s recurring transaction volumes.

Strategic Expansion into Education Payments

Novatti’s push into merchant acquiring and payment acceptance services reflects a deliberate pivot towards higher-margin, recurring revenue streams. The education sector, particularly international student payments, is a key vertical given its scale and complexity. By embedding regulated payment capabilities into existing university systems, Novatti aims to capture a growing share of cross-border transactions that traditionally relied on cumbersome international bank transfers.

CEO Mark Healy highlighted the strategic significance of the UNSW integration, stating it demonstrates the scalability of Novatti’s education payments approach and its role in enhancing the student experience. The ability to pay through trusted domestic platforms like Alipay not only improves convenience and transparency but also addresses payment certainty concerns for Chinese families managing expenses remotely.

Broader Implications for Novatti’s Growth Trajectory

This successful deployment comes amid Novatti’s broader financial reshuffle, which saw a 42% revenue decline but a notable profit turnaround in the first half of 2026, driven by strategic divestments and operational improvements. The company’s focus on scaling payment infrastructure businesses aligns with the momentum generated by the UNSW deal, which could serve as a template for further integrations across the education sector and beyond. The potential to extend Alipay and other Asian wallet payment options to multiple universities via Xetta could meaningfully contribute to Novatti’s recurring revenue base and enhance its competitive positioning in cross-border payments.

Given the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ estimate that Chinese student enrolments generated $12.7 billion in economic activity in FY25, Novatti’s foothold in this payment channel taps into a lucrative and growing market segment. However, revenue growth remains contingent on wider adoption beyond UNSW and the successful rollout to other institutions.

Novatti’s recent financial performance, including its profit surge amid revenue slide and strategic funding rounds, provides a backdrop of operational discipline supporting this expansion. The company’s ability to convert transaction volume into sustainable revenue streams will be critical to validating its pivot-to-growth strategy.