In Australia the first big payment comes before the visa. To get your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), which the student visa application needs, you usually pay a tuition deposit and your Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) when you accept the offer. If your bank can’t send an international transfer, or a wire takes weeks, that payment holds up everything after it.
This guide explains how Australian universities collect international fees, which of them take cards, and how to pay with a Mehbit virtual Mastercard funded with USDT. The full step-by-step process for any country is in our tuition payment guide.
How Australian universities take international payments
Each university names its payment partners. Check your university’s “how to pay” page first. Some examples:
| University | Routes from overseas | Card? |
|---|---|---|
| University of Queensland | Flywire (preferred), or Visa, Mastercard, Amex and JCB online | Yes; Flywire lets you pay by card in your home currency |
| Deakin University | Visa or Mastercard, Flywire, PayPal or Convera | Yes |
| UTS | Flywire (uts.flywire.com) | Through Flywire |
| RMIT University | Visa or Mastercard online, or a wire through Convera | Yes; pay the offer deposit in the application portal |
| Macquarie University | Mastercard, Visa or Amex, Convera for transfers | Yes |
| University of Melbourne | CIBC International Payment Portal: transfer, e-wallets, Visa or Mastercard | Yes, inside CIBC |
| University of Sydney | Cards, Convera, HSBC, Flywire, CIBC, Alipay, PayPal | Yes, but it doesn’t recommend prepaid cards |
| UNSW Sydney | Cards in Australian dollars, Convera | Yes; prepaid cards excluded |
| Monash University | Visa or Mastercard, Convera, BPAY | Yes; prepaid cards excluded |
Card rules and card fees
- Some universities exclude prepaid cards. UNSW and Monash don’t accept prepaid gift or debit cards, and the University of Sydney advises against them. Mehbit cards are debit Mastercards, not prepaid cards, so this rule doesn’t apply to them.
- No more card surcharges. From 1 October 2026 Australia banned surcharges on Visa, Mastercard and eftpos payments, prepaid cards included, and the University of Sydney and the Department of Home Affairs have stopped charging them. Payment services can still earn on the exchange rate, so compare the final amount.
- Payer country. Macquarie puts it plainly: the “paying from” country is the country your card was issued in. For a Mehbit card that is United Kingdom or Singapore.
The deposit and OSHC before your CoE
Most universities issue the CoE only after your first payment arrives. Some examples from their own pages (amounts in Australian dollars):
- University of Melbourne: a tuition deposit of AU$17,000 when you accept the offer, credited to your first-semester fees, with OSHC paid at the same time.
- University of Sydney: you pay the tuition deposit, including OSHC if relevant, and the eCoE is issued once the payment is received.
- Monash University: the deposit amount is on your International Student Course Agreement.
- RMIT University: pay the offer deposit in the application portal, not on the fees page, to avoid delays to your CoE.
If the visa is refused
- Refunds follow the law and each school’s policy. RMIT gives a full refund of the deposit if you send the Home Affairs refusal letter. Curtin refunds in full but may keep a AU$500 administrative fee.
- Keep your card open. Sydney refunds card payments to the original card and warns that if the card is lost or expired, you may be unable to get the refund. Don’t close the Mehbit card you paid with until any refund has arrived. A refund comes back as dollars on that card, and you can move it to your wallet and withdraw it as USDT.
OSHC
Health cover is a condition of the student visa for its whole length. As one example, UTS lists Medibank’s single student cover at AU$412 for 6 months, AU$821 for 12 months and AU$1,708 for 24 months. Many universities add it to the deposit invoice.
What the student visa (subclass 500) asks for
- Fee: AU$2,500 for the main applicant, paid in ImmiAccount when you submit. The application isn’t valid until it is paid.
- Financial capacity: AU$29,710 a year for living costs, plus AU$2,000 for travel if you apply from outside Australia, on top of 12 months of course fees.
- Paid fees count. Home Affairs lets you deduct fees you have already paid, with a receipt or your CoE as evidence. Paying the deposit early reduces what you still have to show.
Paying an Australian university with a Mehbit card
- Check that your university takes cards (see the table above). Start the payment on Flywire, the university’s portal or the application portal, and note the amount. Flywire shows a Mehbit card the dollar figure before you confirm; on a page that charges in Australian dollars, the card network converts it, so load a little more.
- Deposit USDT (BEP20, TRC20 or ERC20) into your Mehbit wallet.
- Issue a United Kingdom or Singapore Mastercard. Issuance takes about 5 minutes.
- Load the card. You can load up to $50,000 a day per card; for a larger bill, load over two or more days.
- Pay with the card’s country as the payer country, and keep the receipt for your visa application.
What it costs: a 5% card load fee, $0.35 per card transaction, 2 USDT per wallet deposit and a one-time card issuance fee. There is no VAT line on tuition. Worked examples are in the cost table in our tuition guide, and current prices are on the pricing page.
A bank transfer can be cheaper when it works. What a card gives you is speed and control: you pay the university’s own page yourself, the payment is confirmed in minutes, and the CoE isn’t waiting on a wire.
Application fees and late fees
- Application fees: many Australian universities charge none. RMIT charges AU$100 to applicants from some countries, credited to the deposit. See the Education & study abroad section for the services we have tested.
- Late fees: UQ charges a AU$100 late penalty and UTS a AU$200 late payment fee, so pay before the due date.
Checklist
- Open your university’s payment page and note the routes and the cards it accepts.
- Find the deposit and OSHC amount on your offer and the date you need the CoE by.
- Pay a few days early, with the payer country matching your card.
- Keep the receipt and CoE for the visa application; paid fees reduce the funds you must show.
- Read the refund policy and keep the card open until any refund arrives.
Frequently asked questions
Do Australian universities accept international cards for tuition?
Most do, directly or through Flywire, CIBC or Convera. UNSW and Monash exclude prepaid cards; Mehbit cards are debit Mastercards. Check your university’s payment page first.
Is there a card surcharge in Australia?
Not on Visa or Mastercard any more. Surcharges on these cards, prepaid included, have been banned since 1 October 2026. Payment services can still add an exchange-rate margin.
Do I have to pay before I get my CoE?
Usually yes. Most universities ask for a tuition deposit and OSHC when you accept the offer and issue the CoE once the payment arrives.
Which payer country should I choose?
The country your card was issued in: United Kingdom for the Mehbit UK card, Singapore for the Singapore card.
What if my tuition is more than $50,000?
You can load up to $50,000 a day per card, so load over more than one day and start early.
What happens to my deposit if the visa is refused?
Most universities refund it, sometimes minus an administrative fee, when you send the refusal letter. Card refunds go back to the card you paid with, so keep it open.
