School Cash Online Passes 10,000-user Milestone
By ROB FAULKNER
HWDSB’s School Cash Online – a new and convenient web-based payment system for parents – has passed the 10,000-student registration milestone after just 15 months in our schools.
The service allows parents to pay for activities, events and school items without handing in cash or cheques. HWDSB launched the service in January 2015 and as of March 2016, it is now available at all HWDSB schools.
“We are celebrating the success of School Cash Online because it’s clear: parents find it convenient and our highest adopting schools tell us it makes payments much easier to process,” said Carrie Salemi, Manager, School Support Compliance.
School Cash Online is also offered or in the process of being rolled out at many other southern Ontario school boards, and is now in about 5,000 schools across North America
At HWDSB, a winter parent survey found that more than 90 per cent of parents who used the service indicated they are happy and plan to use it again. Use is extremely high in some schools – with more than 90 per cent of students signed up for online payment at C.H. Bray, Fessenden, Glen Brae, Mary Hopkins and Ancaster Senior.
“We are extremely proud of these schools as top performers in HWDSB and the province – and we look forward to seeing the service expand throughout our system,” Salemi said.
There are also benefits for student achievement, Salemi notes, because it lets teachers focus on instruction instead of handling order forms and funds. Parents also no longer need to worry about their young children bringing cash to school.
Once parents sign up for an account and connect the student(s) they will be paying for, the account will move with the student(s) as they progress to other HWDSB schools.
Even parents who are not able to make online payments through their bank are encouraged to sign up, because School Cash Online can let parents know about upcoming events, sends email reminders about payment due dates and can now accept credit cards.
A 24/7 help desk is available if users need support: please phone 1-866-961-1803 or email [email protected].
“We would like to thank all of the schools who have embraced School Cash Online as their preferred method of payment and look forward to reaching a new total of 15,000 students in the next six months.”
HWDSB families may access School Cash Online at: hwdsb.schoolcashonline.com and can learn more in this introductory video.
Please contact your child’s school for additional registration information.
Updated on Monday, April 11, 2016.