Mobile payment company, PesaPal, has developed SchoolPay, to enable parents to pay their child's school fees on their mobile phone.
The payment system for schools is set to reduce banking queues, save on transaction costs and speed up delivery of fees.
In Kenya, the start of the school term often means taking a day off work, spending hours at the bank to deposit school fees, and then again at school to present a slip as proof of payment.
PesaPal allows Kenyans to buy and sell on the Internet, and has partnered with Safaricom for this project.
The idea for SchoolPay came from PesaPal's founder, Agosta Liko.
Presenting at the AITEC Banking and Mobile Money conference in Nairobi last week, he said he was inspired by the day-to-day struggles his mother encountered as a high school head teacher.
It created repeated difficulties for her to make payments and receipts and she wanted a more efficient way of managing school finances. Liko recognised the market for a simple solution to paying school fees.
“I think this system is perfect for the Kenyan context because parents are already using Mpesa, and banks charge schools high transaction fees. PesaPal helps schools avoid these expenses.” Liko said.
SchoolPay transfers funds from parent to school instantly and parents are sent an SMS invoice confirming their payment. The system will enable schools to track money paid for activities like trips and lunch, along with debts for items like school uniforms.
SchoolPay can also be used to send reminders to parents about unpaid fees, instead of having to send the student home.
Schools need an Internet connection to securely receive fees from Mpesa, Zap, PayPal, and credit or debit cards directly into their bank accounts. Using the mobile phone eliminates the risks associated with sending money to third parties and reduces bank transaction fees.
Those abroad will also be able to pay fees using Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Liko said schools will save up to 80% of the current costs incurred in receiving school fees.
So far, Naboboto in Bungoma county and St Erastus school have signed up and are set to log the financial details of pupils in the school, allowing parents to pay fees using their phones.
“We hope for a very efficient system in which all 70 000 schools across the country become part [of it] free of charge. We want to save queues, procrastination and prevent children having to leave education for days, or more just to collect payment receipts from their parents,” says a PesaPal spokesperson.
“It is always such an inconvenience having to pay school fees and I can spend hours at a time queuing outside Equity Bank waiting with other mothers wanting to pay their school fees,” says mother Susan Muthui.
“As the schools demand payment before the start of the school term, all the mums go to the bank on the same day, creating mile-long queues down the street. I think the SchoolPay scheme could really solve a lot of problems and I will be able to pay the fees whenever and wherever.”
Share