Cashless payment system launched for CityServe schools in Birmingham

Education caterer Cityserve, which is part of Birmingham City Council, has launched a cashless payment and pre-ordering system, which will be offered free to all Cityserve schools in Birmingham.

Powered by sQuid, Cityserve Pay has been exclusively licensed for use by the Cityserve. The system will use sQuid Dinner Money, which simplifies meal management, and sQuid SchoolPay, which manages trips, clubs, parent communication and school-related booking.

It means there will be no cash-handling when it comes to paying for school meals, making it appealing for parents, while benefits to schools include cost savings, improved efficiency and easier budgeting.

The system is being offered free to all Cityserve schools, who will not have to pay any upfront cost - just a transaction charge of 1.2%. Non-Cityserve schools can also sign up to the system for a competitive price.

Brian Cape, Head of Commercial Development at Cityserve, said the new system will not only ensure top levels of service continue, but will also help schools amid tight budgets.

He said: “Ofsted have already seen the benefits of this system, including improved communication to parents, removing the issue of cash-handling in schools and reducing waste. Cityserve Pay eliminates the need to count, reconcile and bank cash as all payments are made online, saving schools time and money, while the use of interactive whiteboard ordering in class increases meal take-up and reduces queue times. And that’s before you get to the waste reduction and environmental impact of schools.

“If we can sign up 200 schools, that would equate to £1 million saved from the education budget - that’s great for the council, great for the schools involved, and ultimately great for parents too who will also benefit from a simpler way of organising and paying for their children’s meals. Everyone’s a winner!”

George Spencer Academy, which is not a Cityserve school, has already signed up to the state-of-the-art system and catering manager Tanya Flinders said they have already seen the system helping to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

She said: “Online payments have really helped us reduce our costs and the amount of time we spend counting cash; we’ve seen our takings increase by over 20%.”