What is Bank Transfer

Bank Transfer enables parents to pay for any school item directly from their bank account and it is guaranteed by the Direct Debit service. There is no need to add or store debit or credit card details in ParentPay but it does require a Direct Debit mandate to be authorised by your bank before payments can be collected (up to 3 working days normally or 10 working days for initial setup).  This allows customers who do not have credit facilities to make online payments and enables new automated payment processes (e.g. auto top-up).

How does it work?

When a payment is made using Bank Transfer, the payment is added to a batching process that runs daily.  This means that any subsequent payments made within the batch period can be aggregated and will show on the payer’s bank statement as a single entry for the combined amount. The batched payments are presented for processing each evening.  Payments made after the cut-off will be processed over to the following day.

The clearing process carried out by the banks can take up to 3 working days to complete. Payments will be processed instantly in ParentPay and will act the same as any other payment method. However, if a payment fails, the affected payment items will be reversed and the payer as well as the school informed of the payment failure. 

Where is it configured?

Once logged into ParentPay as a payer, the following three locations provide access to the setup process:

• The Bank Transfer option on the Parent Account tab
• The Payment Item Overview page
• The Basket (when making a payment)

The website provides guidance on completing the setup.  Additional information is provided in the next section (at the bottom of the page).

What if it a payment fails?

Should a payment attempt fail, for instance, due to lack of funds in the bank account, the payer is informed via email as well as by notification message the next time they attempt to log in to the ParentPay.  School managers will also see any failed payments in the notification tab on the home page of your Manager Account login.  By selecting this notification tab you will be navigated directly to the Failed payment report.

Failed payments can also be viewed by school managers from:

• Pupil statements
• Payment reports
• The Failed payment report

It is not possible to display the reason for why the payment has failed and the payer will be directed to speak to their bank to discover the cause. 

In all cases, payers should resolve the issue with the bank and retry the bank transfer or make alternative payment arrangements (e.g.credit/debit card, PayPoint, etc.)