The community has always relied heavily on the childcare industry. According to Education Counts NZ, over 181,045 children are trusted to the care of licensed childcare providers every month - so parents can get to their jobs, work and make a living.

When developing a budget for your family, finding a childcare provider who makes it as simple as possible to pay is essential.

Flexible payment options, such as direct debit, can simplify budgets - giving parents extra time to plan and greater flexibility when paying for childcare services.

See why it pays to find a childcare provider who offers direct debit as a payment option - and how paying with direct debit can benefit your budget's bottom line.

Direct Debit Payments are Set and Forget

While cash and cards are ideal for one-off payments (like your weekly shop), using cash or card to pay for childcare can quickly turn tiresome and complicated.

Parents need to remember to write cheques, withdraw cash, or enter card details into an online form - missing any of these payments can result in a child missing out on attending their daycare.

Direct debit payments, however, are processed automatically. All you need to do is provide your chosen childcare provider with your payment details and a DDR (or direct debit request), and they can debit your account as required.

This means that you don't have to remember to pay for one off extras, like group outings and activities - instead, your childcare provider can directly debit your account. You'll also reduce your chances of paying dreaded 'late payment' fees.

Flexible Payment Plans

Paying large, lump-sum payments can be intimidating for many families. The average daily cost for childcare sits around $59.72 NZD for every ten hours a child is in care. This sizeable sum represents a large expenditure for families of all sizes - especially working parents with multiple children.

Parents must remember to withdraw large sums of money from the bank or pay expensive credit card fees each time they pay their childcare provider. This can add unnecessary burden to the task of paying for childcare, and increase the chances of being charged for late payment fees.

Paying with direct debit, however, offers far more flexibility to parents.

Most direct debit service providers (like Ezypay) give businesses the means to split up large bulk payments into smaller, more manageable chunks - effectively, a far cheaper buy now, pay later solution. This means setting up a payment plan via direct debit can often be far cheaper in the long run than taking out a loan or paying with a credit card.

Always Have Backup

Missing a payment because you're over your credit limit - or your main bank account is short a few bucks - can be a huge pain. Not only will you be charged late fees, but your child may also miss out on attending their daycare - which might result in missed work.

If a parent chooses to pay for their childcare services with direct debit or sign up for a payment plan with direct debit, they can optionally elect to provide multiple payment methods. Therefore, if one method fails, there's always a backup method available.

Providing your childcare worker with multiple payment methods secures your child's place at childcare (and all the related group activities) and minimises the chance of incurring late fees or other penalties.

Summary

Paying with direct debit can be a real blessing for families who rely on daycare. It can also be great for childcare service providers themselves.

Direct debit payments are easy to set up, effortless to maintain and can offer families a whole host of benefits, including the ability to split large sums into more manageable payments.

Just ask your local childcare provider if they offer direct debit. And if they don't - feel free to send them this article!