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UAE: No more cheques; now, use direct debit, pay-later options to settle school tuition fees

Central Bank backed system allows families to manage expenses to stay out of debt and protect their credit score

Published: Mon 1 Apr 2024, 6:24 PM

Updated: Mon 1 Apr 2024, 10:13 PM

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A newly launched school fee payment app is gaining popularity among UAE families, which offers them the flexibility to pay in instalments and streamline the process

Direct Debit System, the country's pioneer in paperless direct debit solutions for the education domain, has joined forces with fintech start-up Zenda. Together, they aim to revolutionise the payment process for tuition and related educational expenses by introducing an automated and digitised approach.

Pay-now and pay-later options

Considering the significant financial strain parents experience, it is not unexpected that payments of school fees are sometimes delayed.

The new partnership integrates Zenda's user-friendly payment app with the paperless Direct Debit System, enabling parents to settle school bills with pay-now and pay-later options.

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In addition to tuition fees, families can explore other services, such as transport and meals, to expand their payment options through the app.

The UAE Central Bank backs the system and is one of the entities that use UAEPASS, making the entire process paperless.

Speaking about the latest collaboration, Founder and CEO, Ummair Butt, said, "This agreement with Zenda is another important milestone in our mission to provide an alternative to the age-old practice of bulk cheque payments."

Raman Thiagarajan (left) and Ummair Butt. Photo: Supplied

Raman Thiagarajan (left) and Ummair Butt. Photo: Supplied

He said, "Combining four bulk cheques for annual rent and three cheques for school fee payments can amount to over 50 per cent of the average salary in the UAE. By settling those recurring expenses through a monthly digital payment system rather than advance paper-based cheques, the 96 per cent monthly salaried people in the UAE can budget better to stay out of debt and protect their credit score."

Speaking on behalf of Zenda, Co-Founder, Raman Thiagarajan, said, "We are very excited to collaborate with Direct Debit System, a pioneer in offering a fully digital recurring payments platform in the UAE. Our services will help education institutions offer flexibility to their parents while enhancing their collection efficiency."

Ease monetary pressures

Meanwhile, the parents' community highlights that even though other industries are accelerating the shift to automation and digitisation, the education sector lags, with several payments still being made through cash or cheques.

Ahsan Rathor who has three school-aged children said, "I have been using Zenda for quite some time now. My children go to Al Salam Community School (ASCS) here in Al Twar, and I now make payments online using this system. Since Al Salam was a new school, we had to either go to the cashier or give a cheque. The school was in Sharjah, and then it moved to Dubai. So, there were some issues, but this new app has proved to be quite helpful. I opt for the pay later option. This really helps to match your salary with your budget."

Users reiterate that it offers the opportunity to divide school term fees into several instalments, alleviating monetary pressures.

Another parent, Arvind Rao, said, "It provides an option to pay the school fees for the term in a staggered manner without the burden of high-interest rates. Therefore, such offerings are always a welcome sign for both parents and schools as the process also enables the digitisation of the school receivables."

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