24 August 2023
Bank Transfer has been renamed One-click payments
To make our payment options easier for parents to understand, we’ve updated the name of Bank Transfer to One-click payments, as it enables parents to checkout in just one click.
Parents previously using Bank Transfer won’t need to do anything – just look out for our new One-click payments button in place of the Bank Transfer button at checkout.
Why use One-click payments?
One-click payments enables parents and guardians to make payments for any school items via ParentPay directly from their bank account, eliminating the need to enter or store card details.
While it does require a Direct Debit Mandate, it is not used to make repeat payments as is typical with Direct Debit. The Direct Debit Mandate for One-click payments is used to make individual payments as and when required by the parent. The mandate is simply to authorise the payments taken from their bank, when processed by the parent.
Who can use One-click payments?
All parents and guardians who have a bank account can take advantage of the One-click payments functionality. After adding items to the basket and going to checkout, parents are asked if they would like to set up One-click payments. After selecting the setup option, they are asked to enter the bank account details they wish to make payments from, their name, account number, and sort code, and then accept and confirm the setup. Once completed, the payment will be sent for processing.
A confirmation of the Direct Debit Mandate will be sent to their email address along with a payment receipt for the items they have purchased. Once a payment is submitted to the bank to be processed, it typically takes 3-6 days to complete the transaction with the funds being transferred to the school account at the end of this period.
Parents can disable One-click payments at any time provided there are no outstanding payments being processed and the account is not in debt, to prevent schools from being put into debt through non-payment.
Want more information on One-click payments?
If you’re a school that would like to share the benefits of One-click payments with your parents you can find guidance and a PDF that you can share with parents as part of our parent activation toolkit.
If you’re a parent who would like to set up One-click payments, here is some guidance on how you can do so.