Collecting Preschool and Enrichment Fees: GIRO, PayNow or Card?

GIRO vs PayNow vs card for monthly fees

Each method has a different balance of cost, effort and how well it copes with changing amounts.

Most centres use GIRO or card for the regular fee and PayNow for one-off items such as registration, excursions and materials. Paper GIRO forms are slow: the Association of Banks in Singapore's eGIRO page says the paper process takes about 3 weeks on average, while eGIRO cuts it to minutes for a typical consumer. Ask your bank or payment provider whether they support eGIRO for billing organisations.

What each option costs (October 2026)

Approximate published rates, before GST, from each provider's page. Bank GIRO charges for billing organisations depend on your bank and arrangement, so ask your bank for its business GIRO tariff.

Sources: HitPay pricing and Stripe PayNow documentation. Our HitPay vs Stripe comparison covers the wider differences.

Billing net fees after ECDA subsidies

For childcare and infant care, many families receive ECDA subsidies, and the centre bills the remaining net fee. ECDA's subsidy overview lists, for example, a Basic Subsidy of S$300 a month for childcare and S$600 for infant care where the main applicant is working, with Additional Subsidy depending on household income, as of October 2026. Subsidies are reviewed at fixed points, so a family's net fee can change during the year.

• Keep each child's gross fee, subsidy amount and net fee as separate fields, not one number.
• Update the subsidy when ECDA informs you of a change, and bill the new net fee from the right month.
• If you use fixed-amount GIRO or card plans, change the amount before the next collection, or switch those families to monthly invoices.
• Show gross fee, subsidy and net payable on every invoice and statement.

Deposits, refunds and withdrawals

Deposits and withdrawal notice are where most fee disputes start. Put the rules in the enrolment contract and make the billing system follow them.

Stripe's documentation notes that PayNow payments can be refunded up to 90 days after the original payment; after that, you need another refund method such as a bank transfer.

Handling failed GIRO debits and declined cards

Some collections will fail every month: insufficient funds, closed accounts, expired cards. A clear routine stops these turning into months of arrears.

1. 1

   Get notified the same day

   Make sure failed debits and declined cards trigger an email or dashboard alert to the person who handles fees.

2. 2

   Send an automatic payment link

   Email or message the parent a PayNow or card link for the exact amount, so they can pay immediately.

3. 3

   Remind on a fixed schedule

   For example, after 3, 7 and 14 days. Our guide to automating invoice reminders in Xero and QuickBooks shows how.

4. 4

   Escalate personally

   After the last reminder, the principal or admin calls the family. Keep the tone private and practical.

5. 5

   Fix the cause

   Ask the parent to update the card or set up a new GIRO authorisation before the next billing date.

Receipts, statements and accounting sync

Parents keep fee records for their own budgeting and sometimes for employers or other schemes, and your accountant needs every payment matched. Send a receipt for every payment and a monthly statement per child.

The cleanest setup issues invoices from accounting software (Xero or QuickBooks) with a payment link, and lets the payment provider's integration mark them paid. HitPay and Stripe both connect to Xero, which removes manual matching. If you use Stripe Billing for card subscriptions, our Stripe subscription billing guide explains plans, retries and the customer portal; for one-off fees, see accepting PayNow on your website.

If your centre's website lists fees, keep the wording consistent with your invoices; our preschool website guide covers fee and subsidy wording.

Do it yourself or get help?

A small enrichment centre can set up card subscriptions or PayNow invoices in a day. Childcare centres with subsidies, GIRO and many families benefit from planning the data first: gross fee, subsidy, net fee, method and status per child.

Our Subscriptions & Recurring Billing service (S$490) sets up recurring card or GIRO collection with failed-payment handling. Online Payment Setup (S$290) adds PayNow and payment links, and Xero / QuickBooks Integration (S$390) connects payments to your books.