MasterCard Labs, a subsidiary of financial services company MasterCard, is set to launch its QkR payment app across Australian schools in partnership with the Commonwealth Bank in May 2014.
The launch follows its successful trial in eight schools in Victoria, Australia.
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Using QkR, parents can use their mobile device or tablet to pay for school meals, contribute to fundraising initiatives, purchase school uniforms and other items.
The app is intended to reduce the administrative burden of cash transactions for schools, besides providing parents with greater control of their spending. This can in turn bypass the need for primary school children to carry significant sums of money.
Mentone Primary’s principal Marcelle Van Maanen, said: "QkR is one of those things that, once you’ve tried it, you realise you just can’t live without it. The customisation and reporting features are easy to use, but it’s also meant that parents aren’t coming into school to pay for things all the time – we’ve actually got our foyer back."
Lauding the app, Victorian Minister for Education, the Hon. Martin Dixon said that technology marks an important step forward for schools everywhere and that the project should act as a template for the kind of mutually-beneficial partnerships that schools can make with private enterprises.
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By GlobalData
