How to grow your payments app with private schools
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
Private schools range from small low-fee community schools to large academies, and all of them run on fees. Parents pay at the start of each term, often in instalments, plus extra for exams, uniforms, books, meals and trips. Many still pay in cash at the office or at a bank counter, and the bursar spends weeks matching payments to pupils and chasing balances. A payments app that sends each parent a link for what they owe, accepts instalments and records every payment against the right child can win these schools, and every parent who pays sees your app.
Talk to school bursars
Ask local private schools:
- How do parents pay fees today, and how many pay in instalments?
- How long does it take to match payments to the right pupil?
- What extra charges do you collect, such as exams, meals or trips?
- How do you remind parents who are behind, and how often does it work?
Send each parent a fee link
A link for each child's fees at the start of term, with the option to pay in parts, means parents can pay from their phone and the school knows who has paid.
Collect extras without cash
Separate links for exams, trips and uniforms stop children carrying cash to school and make each payment easy to track.
Grow through parents
Every school has hundreds of parents, many of them running small businesses. When they pay fees through your app, they see how it could work for their own customers.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
What about nurseries and after-school clubs?
The nurseries and after-school clubs guide covers collecting regular fees from parents and chasing late payments.
Nurseries and after-school clubs →What about school uniform shops?
The school uniform shops guide covers the rush before term starts and parents who pay in parts.
School uniform shops →Can I call it a bank?
In most countries "bank" is a protected word you can only use with a banking licence. Call it an account, a wallet, an app or a platform. The accounts and payments behind a SendPay Business platform are powered by licensed partners.
Is there a step-by-step plan I can follow?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from picking your people and naming your app to setting fees, going live and winning your first ten customers.
Digital bank app launch checklist →How do I start?
Pick a template, name it and preview every page before you pay. Your platform can be live on your own domain within 24 hours of confirmation.
Build my platform →Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.