Best online payment systems for schools

With every passing year, digital payments cease to be an optional “nice-to-have” that businesses can use to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Today, they’re a necessity, with customers demanding the reliability and ease-of-use offered by digital payment solutions as standard. That’s why it’s so important for businesses to have access to a payment gateway that enables customers to pay online in a secure and seamless manner.

Businesses in the education industry, such as schools, universities, and further education colleges, can benefit enormously from the implementation of an online payment solution. The ability to accept a wide range of payment methods enables these types of organisations to give customers the type of experience they’ve come to expect. Some of the payment methods that should be covered by your online school payment system include:

• Credit and debit card payments

• Bank transfers

• E-wallets

• Amazon Pay

• Apple Pay / Samsung Pay

• Cryptocurrency

We’ve put together a guide to online payment solutions for schools and universities, giving you the lowdown on the best online school payment systems so that you can make the right choice for your organisation. Read on to find out everything you need to know about school payment gateways.

Why an online school payment system is important

As we’ve explained, it’s super-important for businesses and institutions in the education space to implement some kind of online payment service for schools. Some of the industry-specific benefits associated with online school payment systems include:

• Live data on online payments, eliminating confusion

• Reduced management and archiving costs

• Complete transparency on payments for parents

• Elimination of risks associated with paper-based backups

• Reduction of admin time chasing payments due to automation

• Improved knowledge management and search capability

• Ability to process cashless school payments

• Increased reliability when it comes to access for parents

• Improved safeguarding for children (some school payment gateways enable parents to upload important information regarding allergies, medical details, and so on)

• Better document security and control

5 best online payment systems for schools

Now that you have a little more information about why online payment solutions for schools, colleges and universities are so important, let’s explore some of the best school payment gateway options:

GoCardless

GoCardless is an international payment gateway that enables organisations in the education space, like schools and universities, to take payments directly from their customers’ accounts via Direct Debit.

Features include:

• Ability to accept one-off payments and automated, recurring payments

• 350+ partner integrations

• Future-proofed payments via open banking technology

Eduspot

Eduspot’s SchoolMoney system provides a trustworthy and secure online payment solution for schools that’s designed to modernise school functions and streamline catering and parental payment processes.

Features include:

• Online school payments

• Collecting school arrears

• School payments reporting

• Cashless catering

• Ability to manage school club booking, school dinners, and school trips

• School app

• School shop

Opayo

Opayo offers an online school payment system for schools and universities that can help organisations in the education space transition to becoming cashless.

Features include:

• Online invoicing

• Online payments

• Fraud prevention

• Integration with a broad range of partners

Parentpay

Parentpay provides a completely cashless school payment gateway that organisations can use to collect payments for meals, clubs, uniforms, trips, and more.

Features include:

• Financial reporting

• Ability to manage and collect payments from one place

• Secure, cashless payments

iPayimpact

iPayimpact is a trusted online payment service for schools in the UK that is ideal for use in primary schools, secondary schools, and multi-site organisations (like councils, MATs, caterers, and so on).

Features include:

• Ability to manage school income (dinners, trips, events, shop, tickets, etc.) online

• Flexible payment plan

• High level of security and compliance

How can GoCardless help with payments?

GoCardless enables schools and universities to collect payments directly from their customers bank accounts in a timely and cost-effective manner, with both recurring and one-off payments covered by our broad school payment gateway solution. Integrating seamlessly with over 350 partners, including Xero and QuickBooks, GoCardless’s online payment service for schools provides you with visibility into your payments workflow, making it ideal for organisations in the education space.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.