by Lea Fabbrini

South Ayrshire Council launched a new online school payments system – ‘iPayimpact’ – on the 22nd of November 2017.

The system is part of the project ‘South Ayrshire Goes Digital’ and is now available in all eight Council secondary schools in South Ayrshire.

Councillor Douglas Campbell, Leader South Ayrshire Council said: “This is the first large scale project as part of our ambitious Transform South Ayrshire programme. We’re using technology which allows our customers access to Council services at a time of their choosing and there will be more projects of this type in the future.”

The councillor thinks a key benefit of this system is reducing the amount of cash being taken to school by young people which improves pupil safety, ensuring money is not misplaced.

Margo Cathcart, Parent Council Chair fully supports the new approach as it makes life much easier for parents with children at secondary school. She said: “We all lead busy lives and being able to make a payment at a time that suits is a definite advantage. It’s always a bit of a worry when children are taking money to school, especially larger amounts for trips, so iPayimpact is ideal.”

The main appeal of the new paying system is that it allow parents to pay for meals and school trips when it suits them best without the hassle of having to physically go to the school or having to worry about sending their children to school with large amounts of money.