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Why Is There A Fee?
All payment processors (such as PayPal) charge fees of some nature for handling online payment transactions. In order to keep operating costs low, the UCDSB has decided to transfer this fee to parents as a ‘convenience fee’ for using the Online Payments service, which will help offset the costs that the UCDSB incurs for using PayPal to secure the payment transactions. We call them a "convenience fee" because a parent could say that the fee incurred for loading money into their MFR account and using the Online Payments service offsets the time saved in not having to write cheques, keep spare coin around, put money into ziploc baggies, and fill out paper forms.
Fee details are as follows: a charity rate of 1.6% + flat fee of $0.30 per transaction are charged to parents.
Here’s how the fees are structured currently: - A parent must “Load Funds” to their MFR account first before they can pay for a school event. They can select any amount they wish and they pay less overall fees if they load more funds then they initially need (see table below). They are charged a fee for this transaction. (Note: we transparently display these fees to the parent).
- When a parent pays for a school event, the amount is taken from their MFR account and their balance will decline proportionately. They are NOT charged a fee for this transaction
- When the parent’s MFR account balance reaches $0 (or a low enough balance where they need more money to pay for a school event), they must “Load Funds” again. They are charged a fee for this transaction.
Example: - Mr. Smith loads $100 to his MFR account. He is charged an additional $1.93 for this transaction
- Over the next several months, the school offers a hot lunch program that costs $65, a Christmas Wreath sale that costs $20, and a field trip which costs $10. Mr. Smith opts-in and pays for all three events, totaling $95.00. No fees are charged for any of these. Mr. Smith is left with an account balance of $5.00.
- The school then offers another field trip with a $10 entry fee. Mr. Smith does not have enough funds in his account so he must “Load Funds” again to top-up his MFR account. He loads $50. He is charged an additional $1.12 fee for this transaction.
Fee Table (to demonstrate how the overall fees are lower if you load more funds) “Load Funds” Amount | Fee | % of “Load Funds” Amount | $10 | $0.47 | 4.70% | $20 | $0.63 | 3.15% | $50 | $1.12 | 2.24% | $100 | $1.93 | 1.93% | $200 | $3.56 | 1.78% | $500 | $8.43 | 1.69% |
We will also make sure that there is always a secondary option available to parents who do not wish to pay the fee. For example, for every event published online, a paper copy of the event invitation form will also be sent home to parents so that they can pay with cash or cheque.
If you have questions or require assistance, please use the Contact Us link below.
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