How to collect school fees online in Nigeria
By the edunile team. Reviewed on
The short answer
To collect school fees online in Nigeria, send each parent a bill with a payment link, let them pay by card, bank transfer or USSD through a payment provider, and have each payment land on the right child's bill by itself. Every online payment carries a charge, so decide whether the school or the parent pays it and show it to parents before they pay. Keep taking cash, POS and direct transfers too, and record them in the same place so every balance is right.
What are the ways a Nigerian school can collect fees?
A school can use more than one. The question is how much work each one leaves the bursar at the end of the day.
| Method | How the parent pays | How the school knows | Charges | Work to match it to a child |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer to the school account | From their bank app, to the account number you gave them. | A bank alert, a statement, or a screenshot from the parent. | No payment company charge to the school. | High: match each alert to a child by name and narration. |
| Payment link (card, transfer or USSD through a payment provider) | Opens the link on their bill and picks how to pay. | The payment is confirmed against that child’s bill as it clears. | A payment charge on each payment. On edunile the parent pays the payment charge on top of the fee, never more than ₦2,500 on one payment, and the school receives the full fee. | Low: each payment lands on the right bill. |
| POS at the bursar’s desk | Card on the school’s POS terminal. | The POS slip and the provider’s settlement report. | Set by your POS provider. | Medium: record each slip against a bill. |
| Cash at the office | Hands the money to the bursar. | Your receipt book. | None, but it must be counted, kept safe and banked. | High: count, bank and record every payment. |
What does an online payment cost, and who pays it?
Every online payment passes through a payment provider, and every payment carries a charge. Either the school pays it out of the fee, or the parent pays it on top. Whichever you choose, parents should see the charge before they pay, so nobody meets it as a surprise.
On edunile the parent pays the payment charge on top of the fee, never more than ₦2,500 on one payment, and the school receives the full fee. It applies only when a parent pays online. Cash, POS and transfers recorded at the desk carry no charge. The payment page shows the exact charge and the total before the parent taps Pay. It covers card and bank processing and edunile’s costs of running payments.
| Fee paid online | Payment charge | Parent pays in all |
|---|---|---|
| ₦10,000 | ₦304.57 | ₦10,304.57 |
| ₦20,000 | ₦507.62 | ₦20,507.62 |
| ₦50,000 | ₦1,116.76 | ₦51,116.76 |
| ₦100,000 | ₦2,131.98 | ₦102,131.98 |
| ₦200,000 | ₦2,500 | ₦202,500 |
| ₦300,000 | ₦2,500 | ₦302,500 |
How do you set up online fee collection?
- List your classes and what each one pays this term, with a due date.
- Collect a parent phone number for every student, with the parent’s agreement to receive bills and receipts on WhatsApp. An email is useful but not required.
- Add the school’s bank account, so online payments are paid out there. On edunile you also need the BVN of the person who owns the account.
- Send every parent a bill with a link to pay.
- Record cash, POS and direct transfers in the same place as you receive them.
- Remind parents who still owe, starting a few days before the due date.
How do parents pay from a WhatsApp link?
- The parent gets a WhatsApp message with the child’s bill and a link.
- The link opens a payment page in their phone’s browser. No app and no password.
- The page shows the bill, the payment charge and the total before they tap Pay.
- They choose card, bank transfer or USSD and pay.
- A receipt arrives on WhatsApp, and by email where the school has the address, and the school sees the payment straight away.
Software that sends bills through the WhatsApp Business Platform must start that conversation with a message template WhatsApp has approved, and Meta charges the business for each template message it delivers. Ask whether bills and receipts on WhatsApp are part of the price.
Can parents pay part of the fees online?
They can if the school allows it. Decide first whether you accept instalments and what the smallest one is. On edunile, part payment online is off until the school switches it on, and you can set a smallest amount. The bill shows Partial until the rest is paid, every instalment gets its own receipt, and you can still remind the parent about the balance.
How do you match every payment to the right child?
Payments made through a link match themselves, because the link belongs to one child’s bill. Everything else needs a record. Ask parents who transfer directly to put the child’s name and class in the narration, and write the teller, transfer reference or POS slip number on the record. That one number settles most arguments months later. A parent who pays for two children in one transfer is recorded as two payments, one on each bill.
What edunile does here
edunile sends every parent their child’s bill on WhatsApp, and by email where you have the address, with a link to pay. Parents pay by card, bank transfer or USSD, the payment provider pays the full fee into the school’s own bank account, and the payment shows on the bursar’s screen the moment it clears.
Cash, POS and direct transfers go in with Record payment at the top of the Finance page. They carry no payment charge, and the parent can get a receipt there and then.
Common questions
Do parents need an app to pay school fees online?
No. On edunile the parent opens a link from WhatsApp or email and pays in the browser, with no app and no password.
Which payment methods can parents use?
Card, bank transfer or USSD, all through the payment provider. Cash, POS and transfers straight to the school account still work; the bursar records them.
How much is the payment charge on edunile?
The parent pays the payment charge on top of the fee, never more than ₦2,500 on one payment, and the school receives the full fee: ₦1,116.76 on a ₦50,000 fee, ₦2,131.98 on ₦100,000, and ₦2,500 on ₦200,000 or anything above it. It applies only when a parent pays online. Cash, POS and transfers recorded at the desk carry no charge.
Does the school pay the online payment charge?
Not on edunile. The parent pays the payment charge on top of the fee, never more than ₦2,500 on one payment, and the school receives the full fee. The payment page shows the exact charge and the total before the parent taps Pay.
Does edunile hold the school’s money?
No. The payment provider pays the full fee into the school’s own bank account. edunile records the payment against the child’s bill and sends the receipt.
Can a parent pay in instalments online?
Yes, once the school switches on part payments and, if it likes, sets a smallest amount. Each instalment gets a receipt and the bill shows what is left.
Sources
Related
- WhatsApp fee collectionBills on WhatsApp with a payment link, and every payment in one place.Read more
- Why there is a payment chargeWhat the charge is for, where parents see it, and why the school gets the full fee.Read more
- Record a payment made in cash or by transferPut cash, POS and transfer payments on the right bill, and turn on part payments.Read more
- How to send school fee reminders on WhatsAppWhen to remind, what to say, and the WhatsApp rules that apply.Read more