Nelnet Campus Commerce
Nelnet Campus Commerce is a U.S. higher-education payment technology platform serving 1,100+ colleges and universities with tuition billing, payment plans, refunds, and integrated campus commerce, operating as a division of Nelnet Inc.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersLincoln, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Nelnet Campus Commerce does
Nelnet Campus Commerce is a Lincoln, Nebraska-based payment technology platform purpose-built for U.S. higher-education institutions. Operating as a division of Nelnet Inc. (NYSE: NNI) under the legal entity Nelnet Business Solutions, Inc., the company was formed in 2005 when Nelnet acquired infiNET and FACTS, and was further strengthened by the 2018 acquisition of Tuition Management Systems and the 2025 acquisition of Next Gen Web Solutions. It serves over 1,100 (and as cited on its website, 1,300+) colleges and universities, supporting more than 8 million students nationwide and processing over $602 million in Title IV refunds.
The platform delivers a comprehensive suite organized into Tuition Management (Payment Plans, Billing & Payments, Refunds, Sponsor Billing, Nelnet Notify) and Integrated Commerce (Storefront, Cashiering, Checkout, Payment Forms), plus Scholarship Manager, Cybersecurity and Compliance services via CampusGuard, and the in-flight Project Horizon platform transformation. Underlying technology is a cloud-based, PCI Level 1 / P2PE / SOC 1 & 2 / FERPA / Nacha / GDPR / CCPA-compliant stack with real-time certified integrations into all major higher-education ERPs (Workday, Oracle, Ellucian, Jenzabar, Anthology) enabling single sign-on and real-time payment posting.
The business monetizes primarily through transaction-based fees on tuition, billing, refund, and campus commerce payments under multi-year enterprise contracts. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales with regional representatives covering six U.S. regions plus a dedicated Strategic Sales overlay, supported by marketing at industry conferences (NACUBO, Alliance, Ellucian Live), the proprietary CampusConnect annual conference, content marketing, and ERP partner channels. The customer base spans large public and private universities (Cornell, Oregon, Notre Dame, Montana, Saint Joseph's, University of Louisiana System) down to community colleges (Lewis, Pitt, Palomar, Doane, KCKCC), with the entire revenue base concentrated in a single U.S. vertical.
Nelnet Campus Commerce firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nelnet Campus Commerce
- Legal name
- Nelnet Business Solutions, Inc.
- Website
- https://campuscommerce.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Nelnet Campus Commerce is a U.S. higher-education payment technology platform serving 1,100+ colleges and universities with tuition billing, payment plans, refunds, and integrated campus commerce, operating as a division of Nelnet Inc.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nelnet Campus Commerce industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education Payment Technology
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Billing, Tuition, Fees & Payments (including Cafeteria/Meal Accounts) (EDAFAEAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Payments, Cashiering & Payment Plans (EDALAJAE), Higher Education SIS & Campus Management Systems (EDAFAEAB), Student Billing, Invoicing & Account Statements (EDALAJAC)
Keywords
Where Nelnet Campus Commerce is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lincoln
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Nelnet Campus Commerce business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Payment Processing and Transaction Fees: Transaction-based revenue from processing payments across tuition management, billing, refunds, and integrated commerce solutions for higher education institutions
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Enterprise pricing for higher education institutions |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Nelnet Campus Commerce product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nelnet Campus Commerce provides a cloud-based payment technology platform purpose-built for higher education institutions. Its offerings span Tuition Management (payment plans, billing & payments, refunds, sponsor billing, and Nelnet Notify communications) and Integrated Commerce (storefront, cashiering, checkout, and payment forms), with real-time integration to major campus ERPs. The platform serves over 1,100 institutions and supports 8 million+ students with secure, PCI-compliant payment processing.
Product overview
Nelnet Campus Commerce is a higher education payment technology platform offering a comprehensive suite of integrated solutions organized into two main categories: Tuition Management and Integrated Commerce. The Tuition Management suite includes Payment Plans (with Actively Managed, International, Past Due, and Long-Term options), Billing & Payments, Refunds, Sponsor Billing and Payments, and Nelnet Notify for communications. The Integrated Commerce suite includes Storefront, Cashiering, Checkout, and Payment Forms for campus-wide payment needs. Additional offerings include Scholarship Manager, Cybersecurity and Compliance Solutions (via CampusGuard partnership), Nelnet Campus Commerce Learning for staff training, and Project Horizon as a major platform transformation initiative. The platform serves over 1,100 higher education institutions and integrates with major ERP systems including Workday, Ellucian, Oracle, Jenzabar, and Anthology.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FACTS: Private K-12 school management company and payment processing brand under Nelnet Business Solutions.
- Nelnet Notify
- NextGen
- Nelnet Payment Services
Products and services
- Payment Plans Flexible tuition payment plans allowing students to split costs into manageable monthly payments, including Actively Managed, International, Past Due, and Long-Term options, for higher education business offices.
- Billing & Payments
Quantifiable outcome
- Students using payment plans are nearly 8% more likely to retain semester-to-semester
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Nelnet Campus Commerce
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Nelnet Campus Commerce technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
Nelnet Campus Commerce partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- WorkdaycoreERP partner integration enabling end-to-end connectivity with Workday platform for seamless payment processing and student account management
- ElluciancoreERP partner integration with Ellucian platforms enabling real-time payment posting and student account synchronization
- OraclecoreValidated integration with Oracle ERP systems for payment processing and financial management connectivity
- JenzabarcoreERP partner integration with Jenzabar higher education solutions enabling seamless payment workflows
- Anthology (Blackboard)coreIntegration partner following Anthology's combination with Blackboard, supporting EdTech ecosystem for education institutions
- Next GencoreNelnet company supporting higher education with administrative services including scholarship management, communication, and recruitment tools integrated with Nelnet Campus Commerce payment solutions
- CampusGuardcoreCybersecurity and compliance partner providing PCI DSS compliance, FERPA assessment, GLBA assessment, employee training, penetration testing, and CMMC prep services to over 400 institutions
- BluefincoreP2PE (Point-to-Point Encryption) partner encrypting in-person and phone card payments at point of capture to protect cardholders against data breaches and reduce PCI scope
- ConveraminorGold sponsor for CampusConnect 2026 conference
- Grad GuardminorGold sponsor for CampusConnect 2026 conference
- CIBCminorGold sponsor for CampusConnect 2026 and international payments partner
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Nelnet Campus Commerce competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Modern Campus: Modern Campus provides student information systems and commerce solutions for non-traditional higher education and workforce development, including Destiny One for continuing education. It is a Nelnet integration partner but also a partial competitor in serving continuing and professional education payment workflows.
- Flywire: Flywire is a public fintech specializing in international tuition payments and cross-border student billing, overlapping with Nelnet's International Payment Plans and Pay-in-My-Currency offerings. While Flywire is also a Nelnet partner for international flows, it increasingly competes for the broader international and domestic tuition payment wallet at the same institutions.
- Cashnet (CashNet USA / Higher One / PayMyTuition): PayMyTuition (alongside the legacy CASHnet brand) provides international and domestic tuition payment solutions for higher education, directly competing for international payment flows that Nelnet addresses via Flywire and CIBC partnerships.
Direct peers
- Convera: Convera (formerly Western Union Business Solutions) provides cross-border payment and FX solutions used by higher education institutions for international student tuition. It is also a CampusConnect 2026 gold sponsor and competes with Nelnet Campus Commerce in the international tuition payments category.
- TouchNet: TouchNet, a Global Payments company, is the closest direct competitor offering a comprehensive campus commerce and payment processing platform for higher education institutions, including tuition payment plans, billing, refunds, and cashiering. It competes head-to-head with Nelnet Campus Commerce for the same institutional buyers (business offices, IT) with similar product breadth and ERP integration depth.
Broad incumbents
- Heartland Payment Systems (Global Payments): Heartland/Global Payments serves higher education campus payment processing alongside its much broader merchant acquiring business, and owns TouchNet. It competes in the same institutional deals but competes primarily through TouchNet's branded higher-ed platform rather than its core acquiring services.
- ACI Payments: ACI Payments (ACI Worldwide) provides enterprise payment processing and disbursement solutions used by higher education institutions for tuition billing, refunds, and electronic payments. As a broad incumbent, it competes for campus payment volume through its established biller direct network but lacks Nelnet's higher-ed-specific vertical specialization.
Others
- Anthology (Blackboard): Anthology, formed from the combination of Blackboard and other EdTech assets, provides SIS, LMS, and student experience solutions to higher education. It is a Nelnet integration partner (integration with Anthology ERP) but also represents a broad incumbent whose product decisions affect Nelnet's distribution surface area.
- CampusGuard: CampusGuard is a Nelnet partner providing PCI DSS, FERPA, GLBA compliance, and cybersecurity services to over 400 institutions. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor, but represents a partner that could expand into the broader campus commerce value chain.
- Ellucian: Ellucian is the largest SIS/ERP provider in higher education and a core Nelnet integration partner. While not a direct payment competitor, it is a strategic ecosystem participant that controls the institutional data plane and could potentially bundle native payment capabilities, making it both an enabler and a long-term competitive risk.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nelnet Campus Commerce social profiles
Digital presenceNelnet Campus Commerce compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance7 records
Nelnet Campus Commerce financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nelnet Campus Commerce leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Nelnet Campus Commerce subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries7 records
Nelnet Campus Commerce funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nelnet Campus Commerce M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nelnet Campus Commerce
What does Nelnet Campus Commerce do?
Nelnet Campus Commerce provides a cloud-based payment technology platform purpose-built for higher education institutions. Its offerings span Tuition Management (payment plans, billing & payments, refunds, sponsor billing, and Nelnet Notify communications) and Integrated Commerce (storefront, cashiering, checkout, and payment forms), with real-time integration to major campus ERPs. The platform serves over 1,100 institutions and supports 8 million+ students with secure, PCI-compliant payment processing.
Is Nelnet Campus Commerce a public or private company?
Nelnet Campus Commerce is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Nelnet Campus Commerce founded?
Nelnet Campus Commerce was founded in 2005. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Nelnet Campus Commerce based?
Nelnet Campus Commerce is headquartered in Lincoln, United States, in the North America region.
How does Nelnet Campus Commerce make money?
One revenue line is on record: payment Processing and Transaction Fees.
Who are Nelnet Campus Commerce's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Modern Campus, Flywire and Cashnet (CashNet USA / Higher One / PayMyTuition). Direct peers are Convera and TouchNet. Broad incumbents are Heartland Payment Systems (Global Payments) and ACI Payments. Others are Anthology (Blackboard), CampusGuard and Ellucian.
Does Nelnet Campus Commerce have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nelnet Campus Commerce.
What industry is Nelnet Campus Commerce in?
Nelnet Campus Commerce's product category is Higher Education Payment Technology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAEAN, Billing, Tuition, Fees & Payments (including Cafeteria/Meal Accounts), with a secondary code of EDALAJAE, Payments, Cashiering & Payment Plans. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 7374.