Part IV — Financial Framework
Chapter 20 — Payment Terms and Financial Transparency
Chapter 20
Payment Terms and Financial Transparency
This chapter sets out the payment mechanisms, billing cycles,
invoicing procedures, and financial reporting requirements that
govern the relationship between Schools and WEQSC. It also sets
out WEQSC's own financial disclosure obligations, on the principle
that a body that requires transparency of its Schools must be
transparent itself.
20.1 General Principle
20.1.1
All financial dealings between a School and WEQSC are
conducted transparently, in accordance with this Framework,
and in a manner that permits both parties to reconcile
their records.
20.1.2
WEQSC does not accept, and does not permit, any payment in
cash. All payments are made through traceable channels.
20.1.3
The confidentiality provisions of Section 11.7.3 apply to
the School's affiliation fee arrangements with WEQSC. Nothing
in this chapter requires the School to disclose the amount
of its affiliation fees to any third party.
20.2 Payment Methods
20.2.1
WEQSC accepts payment by:
- International bank transfer (SWIFT);
- Credit or debit card through the secure payment facility in the Portal; and
- Any other method notified by WEQSC through the Portal.
20.2.2
A processing fee of two per cent applies to payments by
credit or debit card. No processing fee applies to payments
by bank transfer.
20.2.3
All bank charges, transfer fees, and currency conversion
costs are borne by the payer. The amount received by WEQSC
must equal the amount invoiced.
20.2.4
A payment is deemed received on the date on which cleared
funds are credited to WEQSC's account, not on the date on
which the transfer was initiated.
20.3 Currency
20.3.1
Fees may be paid in United States Dollars (USD), Euros
(EUR), or Indian Rupees (INR).
20.3.2
Where a fee is paid in a currency other than USD, the
conversion is calculated at the rate published by the Swiss
National Bank on the date of payment. The rate is locked
for the transaction at the time of payment.
20.3.3
Where a payment is made in a currency other than that in
which the invoice is denominated, and the amount received
is less than the amount invoiced by reason of currency
fluctuation or transfer charges, the shortfall is treated
as an unpaid amount and is subject to Section 14.8.
20.3.4
A School may request that invoices be denominated in a
currency other than USD. WEQSC will ordinarily accommodate
such a request where the School's jurisdiction does not
permit or does not facilitate payment in USD.
20.4 Billing Cycles
20.4.1
The Annual Affiliation Fee is billed annually, on or before
each anniversary of the Effective Date.
20.4.2
The Student Examination Fee is billed once per Academic
Session, on the basis of the examination registration
submitted by the School through the Portal, ordinarily
not less than thirty days before the examination date.
20.4.3
A School may apply to pay the Annual Affiliation Fee in
two half-yearly instalments, or in four quarterly
instalments, subject to a small administration fee for
quarterly instalments, as notified by WEQSC.
20.4.4
An application for instalment payment must be made before
the due date of the first instalment. Where granted, the
instalment arrangement applies only to the invoice in
respect of which it was made, and does not carry forward
automatically to subsequent invoices.
20.4.5
Where an instalment arrangement is in place and a School
fails to pay an instalment on its due date, the whole of
the outstanding amount becomes immediately payable, and
Section 14.8 applies to the whole amount from that date.
20.5 Invoicing
20.5.1
WEQSC issues invoices through the Portal. A copy is sent
by email to the Senior Officer and to the Principal Portal
User.
20.5.2
An invoice states: the fee to which it relates; the
period covered; the amount in USD; the amount in any other
currency if applicable; the due date; the payment methods
available; and the reference number of the invoice.
20.5.3
Where an invoice relates to the Student Examination Fee,
it identifies, in aggregate, the number of students in
each class for which the fee is payable, and the total
amount payable after the application of exemptions under
Chapter 16 and scholarships under Chapter 15.
20.5.4
An invoice is deemed received on the date it is made
available in the Portal. A School that does not access the
Portal is not thereby excused from the due date.
20.5.5
Where a School disputes an invoice in whole or in part, it
must notify WEQSC within fourteen days of the invoice date,
giving reasons. The undisputed portion remains payable on
the due date.
20.5.6
WEQSC resolves an invoice dispute within thirty days of
receiving notice of it, and issues a corrected invoice
where appropriate.
20.6 Receipts and Reconciliation
20.6.1
WEQSC issues a receipt for each payment received, within
two business days of the payment being credited to its
account. The receipt is issued through the Portal and is
accessible to the School at all times.
20.6.2
WEQSC issues an annual reconciliation statement to each
Affiliated School, ordinarily in January, showing all
amounts invoiced, all payments received, and the net
balance.
20.6.3
A School must reconcile its own records with the WEQSC
annual reconciliation statement and notify WEQSC of any
discrepancy within thirty days of receiving the statement.
20.6.4
A School's failure to notify a discrepancy within the
period specified does not prevent it from raising the
discrepancy later, but WEQSC will not be liable to
account for the discrepancy in a subsequent Academic
Session unless the failure to notify was for good reason.
20.7 Refunds
20.7.1
Fees paid to WEQSC are non-refundable, save as specified
in Sections 20.7.2 and 20.7.3.
20.7.2
A refund is made where a School has made an overpayment,
whether by reason of an error in invoicing, a currency
adjustment, or any other cause. The refund is made within
thirty days of the overpayment being identified.
20.7.3
A refund is made where WEQSC is unable to issue an
Affiliation Certificate for reasons within its own
control, as provided in Section 7.8.4.
20.7.4
A refund is not made in respect of:
- The Five-Year Upfront Affiliation Fee upon termination, suspension, or voluntary withdrawal of affiliation during the cycle;
- The Annual Affiliation Fee for a period during which affiliation subsists, whether or not the School makes full use of the affiliation;
- The Student Examination Fee where the student has sat the examination, or has been registered to sit but fails to attend without reasonable excuse; or
- Any other fee where the service to which the fee relates has been provided.
20.7.5
Where a Student Examination Fee has been paid and the
student is subsequently found to be exempt under Chapter
15 or Chapter 16, the fee is refunded in full, or credited
against future fees, at the School's election.
20.8 WEQSC Financial Disclosure
20.8.1
WEQSC publishes an annual financial report, audited by an
independent firm, on its website. The report is published
within six months of the end of WEQSC's financial year.
20.8.2
The financial report includes: total revenue; total
expenditure; allocation of expenditure by category;
surplus or deficit for the year; and the balance of
reserves at the end of the year.
20.8.3
WEQSC publishes, in addition to the financial report, an
annual statement of the allocation of revenue by
programme, showing:
| Allocation Category |
Indicative Share |
Purpose |
| Operations and administration |
~25% |
Staff, office, utilities, general administration |
| Portal and technology |
~20% |
Portal hosting, security, maintenance, updates |
| Examination and credentialing |
~20% |
Question paper design, credential infrastructure, verification system |
| Quality assurance and audits |
~15% |
Annual audits, data quality checks, compliance verification |
| Professional development and training |
~10% |
Teacher workshops, onboarding, curriculum development |
| Scholarships and student support |
~10% |
Girl-child support, elite support, scholarships, merit awards |
20.8.4
The indicative shares in Section 20.8.3 are the shares
applicable at the date of this Framework. They may vary
from year to year within the aggregate budget approved
by the WEQSC Council.
20.8.5
WEQSC's financial statements are audited annually by a
firm of international standing. The audit report is
published together with the financial report.
20.8.6
Where the audit report contains a qualification or an
adverse opinion, WEQSC publishes the audit report and a
statement of the action being taken to address the matter.
20.9 School's Right to Cost Transparency
20.9.1
A School may submit a written request to WEQSC asking how
a particular fee has been applied, or how a category of
expenditure has been funded.
20.9.2
WEQSC provides a written response within thirty days of
the request, giving such information as can reasonably be
provided without disclosing confidential commercial
information, personal data, or information that would
place WEQSC at a competitive disadvantage.
20.9.3
Requests under this section may be made by the School's
Senior Officer or by the School's governing body. They
are ordinarily submitted through the Portal, but may
also be submitted by letter or email to the WEQSC
Secretary.
20.9.4
WEQSC may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of
responding to a request under this section where the
request is unusually complex or voluminous. The fee is
notified to the School before the response is prepared,
and the School may withdraw the request if it does not
wish to pay it.
20.10 Public Reporting
20.10.1
WEQSC publishes annually:
- The number of Affiliated Schools by jurisdiction and ISCED level;
- The number of students enrolled in the WISE programme, by class;
- The number of WISE Credentials issued;
- The number and aggregate value of scholarships awarded under Chapter 15;
- The number of Girl Students supported and the aggregate value of support provided under Chapter 16;
- The number of students receiving Elite Support Tier support under Chapter 18; and
- Anonymised statistics on compliance, audit findings, and remediation.
20.10.2
The public reporting under Section 20.10.1 is prepared
in accordance with the data protection principles in
Chapter 24, and does not identify any individual student,
teacher, or School, save where the School has consented
to being identified.
20.10.3
WEQSC may publish additional reports, briefings, or
analyses on matters within its mandate, in such form
as it considers appropriate.
20.11 Breach — Consequences
20.11.1
A Breach of any provision of this chapter is subject to the
audit regime in Chapter 28 and, where applicable, to the
suspension and termination regime in Chapter 29.
20.11.2
The following are classified as indicated:
| Breach | Classification |
|---|
| Submitting a fraudulent invoice dispute |
Critical |
| Failure to notify a discrepancy in an annual reconciliation statement for three or more consecutive years |
Major |
| Failure to reconcile records with WEQSC when requested |
Minor (Major if repeated) |
| Failure to respond to a cost transparency request within the period specified |
Minor |
| Requesting a cost transparency response without a reasonable basis |
Minor |
20.11.3
Nothing in this chapter displaces the School's right of
appeal under Chapter 35.
Further Resources
- Payment portal —
wise.weqsc.org/portal/payments
- Annual reconciliation statement —
wise.weqsc.org/portal/reconciliation
- Instalment arrangement application —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/instalment
- Cost transparency request —
wise.weqsc.org/forms/cost-transparency
- WEQSC annual financial report —
wise.weqsc.org/reports/financial
- Public reporting statistics —
wise.weqsc.org/reports