How to collect school fees by Mobile Money in GhanaHow to collect school fees by Mobile Money in Ghana

Most Ghanaian parents would rather pay school fees by Mobile Money than queue at the bank or send cash with a child. There are three common ways schools take MoMo, and they are not equally good.

Option 1: a staff member’s or the school’s MoMo number

Parents send money to a number and show the bursar the message. It is easy to start, but:

• Matching payments to learners is manual: many parents forget to add the child’s name.
• Money on a personal number is hard to account for, and mistakes cause arguments.
• Wallet limits can block larger payments near the start of term.
• There is no receipt unless someone writes one.

Option 2: a MoMo merchant account

A registered merchant wallet is better for accounting, but parents still need to give a reference, and someone still has to match each payment to a learner and update their balance.

Option 3: online payments linked to each learner

The parent pays from a link or an app that already knows which learner they are paying for. The phone shows the amount, the parent approves the MoMo prompt, and the payment is recorded on the learner’s account straight away, with a receipt. The money settles into the school’s bank or MoMo account.

This is the only option where the school does not have to match payments by hand. It works for MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash and AirtelTigo Money, and for bank cards.

What the parent pays

Payment networks charge a small fee for each payment. Schools either add it to what the parent pays (shown before they pay) or absorb it. Either way, tell parents at the start of term so nobody is surprised.

Keep cash and bank payments on the same record

Some parents will always pay cash or at the bank. Record those at the office on the same learner account, so each learner has one balance and one history, whatever way they paid.

Reminders that actually get read

A short text with the child’s name and the exact balance works better than a general announcement. Send it to parents who owe, not to everyone.

How Fusadems does it

In Fusadems, each parent sees their children’s balances in the parent app or portal and pays by MoMo or card; the payment goes through Paystack to the school’s own account and the balance updates at once, with a receipt. The office records cash and bank payments on the same account and can text every parent who owes, with their child’s name and balance, in one go. Read how online fee payments reach your school.

Questions schools ask