thinkdifferent

We have just started the process of looking at cashless systems and online payment providers. Our Bursar was going way over the top with questions and requests for accounts etc all the points mentioned by Marshharrier and a load more. I questioned her why she was doing all this extra work and was told quite rightly that the companies chosen will be responsible for tens of thousands of pounds of parents/schools money and we had to ensure they were stable financially, much like when you choose a pension. Made me stop and think.

Sure you are aware that getting on the wrong side of data protection is a very bad thing. I took legal advise before deciding which type of system to go for as it was unclear after talking to a couple of the providers. Whatever you are told its the schools responsibility to ensure compliance NOT the communication provider. I was advised to be very carefull of those systems that simply suck out data to populate their database. Unless you are certain that your parents have given their permission for you to share/copy their details to another system wether its in school or not then dont do it. Some parents are very data aware and will let you know if you are using their contact details on another system without their permission. On a related note I am really suprised at Keep kids Safe - What's the point of a text messaging service that shuts down for 9 hours and doesnt let you send messages. Isnt that the point of a Text messaging service!

That I dont know as I dont work for the company nor am I promoting it. I was responding to your comment that the others dont have a SIMs link.

Not sure that that is correct I understand that ParentMail also has a SIMs link and does a pretty good job of simplifying first day calling using texts.