Parent Pay
NEW
ParentPay
Introducing ParentPay
Aberdeen City Council use a secure service called ParentPay to enable parents to pay for school meals, and other items online. Pupils are issued with a 4-digit pin number as part of the activation process that they need to remember and use when paying for snacks, refreshments and meals in the school canteen.
ParentPay is now live at St Machar Academy making the school a cash-free environment. Parents and carers who need to continue making payments by cash may do so using the PayPoint network at local convenience stores.
If your child is in receipt of free school meals, top ups are automatically applied to your child's account. They are still required to enter their pin number at the till.
ParentPay Overview
Making Secure Payments Online
ParentPay offers you the freedom to make payments whenever and wherever you like, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - safe in the knowledge that the technology used is of the highest internet security available.
You will have a secure online account, activated using a unique username and password; you will be prompted to change these, and to keep them safe and secure. If you have more than one child at our school, or children at other ParentPay schools, you can create a single account login for all your children.
Making a payment is straightforward and ParentPay holds a payment history for you to view at a later date; no card details are stored in any part of the system. Once you have activated your account you can make online payments straight away.
Taking Cash by PayPoint
PayPoint payments are recorded by ParentPay and can be seen by logging into your ParentPay account and viewing your payment history online. The nearest PayPoint stores to school can be found here: https://consumer.paypoint.com/
Please notify the school office if you wish to use the PayPoint facility. A plastic card will be issued to you to make cash payments for school meals at local PayPoint stores. The first card will be issued free of charge; however, any lost or damaged cards will be charged. Payment cards take about two weeks to arrive, but we can issue a barcode letter as an interim measure.
Trip and activity information letters will carry a unique barcode which will allow you to make cash payments at your local PayPoint store.
ParentPay FAQs
When can I log in to my account?
Once you have received your activation letter from school with your activation login details you will be able to activate your account and start making payments.
Which cards can I use?
ParentPay accepts MasterCard, Visa and American Express credit cards, and Maestro, Switch, Delta, Electron, Solo and Visa debit cards. Some schools may limit the use of credit cards for some transactions; you will be informed by the school directly of any such restrictions.
Is it safe to make payments on the internet?
Yes. ParentPay uses leading technology to process your card transactions securely. All communication with the bank is encrypted and neither ParentPay nor the school have access to your card details.
How can I check that it's secure?
Standard website addresses begin with http : the address for a secure site will always begin with https. You will also see a padlock at the bottom/top right of the screen on our login page and after you have logged into your account; never enter your card details or personal data on any web page whose address does not start with https.
What about my personal information?
ParentPay Limited, and its group companies, operate in full compliance with Data Protection Law; Including the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
The ParentPay Terms and Conditions include a Data Processing Agreement (DPA), compliant with the GDPR, which details both parties' obligations relating to Data Protection: https://www.parentpay.com/school-terms-and-conditions/
The ParentPay Privacy Notice, which is available to end user, provides further information on the processing activities undertaken by ParentPay: https://www.parentpay.com/privacy-notice/
ParentPay will NEVER contact you by phone, email or mail and ask you to divulge confidential information like passwords or card numbers. If you are ever contacted by someone claiming to be from ParentPay, please contact us immediately on 02476 994820.
I do not have a home PC so how can I use ParentPay?
Why not visit your local library, internet café or see if you can get access to a computer at work. Alternatively ask if you can use your school's computers. Many schools have computers available for parents and will be happy to show you how to use them.