Autopay - Frequently Asked Questions

Autopay - Frequently Asked Questions

Autopay automatically allocates wallet funds to payment requests on behalf of caregivers. Once a family sets their preferences, Autopay handles the allocation every time funds arrive in their wallet — no manual action needed on your end.

If you've got questions about how Autopay works, what you can see, and what it means for your families, you'll find the answers below.

How Autopay Works

Who is it for?
It's designed for families who prefer to set up a regular bank transfer and have their funds allocated automatically - no logging in to manually assign payments each time. For your school, it means fewer families falling behind on payments without realising it.

Is Autopay a direct debit?
Not at this stage. Autopay works with funds already in the Kindo wallet — families still top up their wallet the same way they do now, and Autopay handles the allocation automatically. Direct bank integration may be available in the future.

Do we need to do anything to make Autopay available to our families?
No. Autopay is available to all Kindo Payable schools automatically. Families opt in themselves — there's no setting to turn on or off on your end.

Does it matter how we've set up our payment requests?
Yes. Caregivers can choose to set Autopay up to allocate funds to All payment request types, Compulsory only, or Voluntary only. When all payment request types is selected, compulsory items are always allocated first. How you categorise your payment requests directly affects how Autopay prioritises them.

Does Autopay cover shop items as well as payment requests?
No — Autopay covers payment requests only, not shop items. Shop items are optional purchases that families choose themselves (such as uniform orders or stationery packs), so Autopay doesn't apply to these.


What You Can See

Can we see which families have Autopay set up?
Yes. When you look up a student on the Point of Sale page, an Autopay indicator shows next to the caregiver's name — you can see whether it's active or paused. This is particularly handy if a family has agreed to a payment plan, as you can easily confirm everything is set up and running as expected.


If a caregiver has multiple compulsory items outstanding, can we control which gets paid first?
No. The allocation order is set by the system: compulsory pay-in-full items are allocated first, then compulsory part-pay items spread evenly, then voluntary items. You can't reorder within that logic, but making sure items are categorised correctly ensures compulsory items are always prioritised over voluntary ones.

Permissions and Forms

What happens if a payment request requires parental permission — like a camp or trip?
Autopay will not process these - they will show as skipped in the notification email and will need to be paid manually.

Caregiver Controls

What if a family wants to stop or pause Autopay?
Families can pause or stop Autopay at any time from their myKindo Wallet page. They can also pause until a specific date. No action is required from your end.

What happens if there aren't enough funds to cover all payment requests? Autopay pays in priority order based on the caregiver's settings. If there aren't enough funds to cover everything, unpaid items are queued and picked up at the next Autopay run — nothing is dropped. Caregivers can also log in to their Kindo account and pay manually at any time.

If two caregivers share costs for a child, do they both need to set up Autopay?
Yes — each caregiver sets up Autopay independently on their own account.

  1. If an auto split has already been applied by your school, each caregiver sees their share as the full amount owing on their account, so they set their percentage to 100%.
  2. If caregivers share costs equally, but an auto-split has not been applied by your school, they can each set their percentage up at 50%.

If a new charge is added after a family has set up Autopay, will it be picked up?
Yes. If the new payment request matches the caregiver's rules, it will be picked up automatically at the next Autopay run. No action needed from your end or the family's.

What if a family has Autopay set up but no charges are currently outstanding?
Funds will sit in the wallet until a payment request arrives that matches their Autopay rules. Autopay only allocates when there's something to allocate to.


Why might a caregiver's final order look different from their notification email? Between the notification email and when Autopay processes, things can change — new payables added by your school, changes the caregiver makes to their settings, or manual purchases reducing their wallet balance. The caregiver will receive a confirmation email and receipt reflecting what was actually paid.

What happens to refunds — does Autopay treat them like any other wallet funds?
Yes. Refunds return to the caregiver's Kindo wallet, and Autopay rules apply in the same way as any other funds. If there are outstanding payment requests that match their preferences, Autopay will allocate accordingly at the next run.


Communicating Autopay to Families

Do we need to communicate Autopay to our families ourselves?
No — Kindo communicates directly with families about Autopay, including how to set it up. You'll receive resources to share with your community, but you won't need to explain the process yourself.

Is there a guide we can share with whānau?
Yes — a caregiver-facing guide is available.



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