This resource overviews how to add and manage payment methods. To pay a program through brightwheel, at least one Parent contact must be associated with a student’s account. Admins can also add additional payers (Family and Approved Pickups) to a student's billing account.

Any payers will need to add a payment method (card or direct bank transfers) to their account before making a payment and will only be able to view, modify, or use the payment method added to their accounts. Payers can never see another payer's card or bank account details; this is private and restricted to the respective payer by default.

Web vs. App Experience

While the steps are focused on performing these tasks from your account on the web, the experience in the app is relatively the same. For payers accessing their account in the app, a homepage similar to the below images will be visible if the provider is accepting payments.

All students your profile is connected to will be visible under the My children tile.

There is also an additional 'School payments' tile. If you have not added a payment method, in this section, you will see a prompt advising you to Add a payment method to get your account fully set up to make payments to your program through brightwheel.
If you already have a payment method added to your account, in this section, you will see a prompt to View account to make payments!

ℹ️ Managing payment methods as outlined below, making payments, and viewing invoices will be the same general steps across the web and the mobile app!

Accepted Payment Methods

Each program can choose what type of payments they'd like to accept (online bank transfers and Credit/Debit cards or online bank transfers only), and these settings may limit the types of payment methods that can be added.

The following payment methods can be added, dependant on the providers' settings:

Credit/Debit Cards
FSA/HSA Accounts
Bank Accounts - Linked with a bank login, or by manually adding a bank account

Add a Bank Account

Any program that accepts payments through brightwheel will allow for bank transfers (checking account only). For payers located in Canada banks transfers occur via pre-authorized debits (PADs) and for U.S. payers bank transfers occur via Automated Clearing House (ACH).

Link Bank With Login

✅ This is the simplest way to add a bank account and most common payment method used by brightwheel payers.

This method is available for most banking institutions. In the United States, we use Plaid and in Canada we use Stripe which are secure 3rd party partners called to instantly connect and verify the information provided.

Navigate to the Payments section online or in your mobile app
Go to the Payment Settings tab
If it's your first time adding a payment method, click Add payment method or Add payment method to autopay if autopay is required.
1. Select Add new if you already have payment methods added
Select the Bank account tab
1. 🇺🇸 If located in the U.S. click Instant verification and then Next
2. 🇨🇦 If located in Canada, enter the Account holder name & email and then Continue.
Select the desired banking institution
Sign in to the bank account
🚩 Only add checking accounts when adding a new bank account. Savings accounts are not compatible with brightwheel billing
Once logged in, a pop-up will verify the setup is complete

💡 If you experience any errors and/or your banking provider is not listed, please follow the instructions below to manually add a bank account.

Manually Add a Bank Account

If your bank isn't listed, link it manually by entering routing and account numbers. To do so, you'll need to complete two-factor authentication (2FA) and verify your account with two small deposits (usually under $1 each).

These deposits will stay in your account for 3-4 days before being withdrawn. During this period, log in to brightwheel and confirm the exact amount of each deposit to verify your account.

Navigate to the Payments section online or in your mobile app
Go to the Payment Settings tab
If it's your first time adding a payment method, click Add payment method or Add payment method to autopay if autopay is required
1. Select Add new if you already have payment methods added
Click the 'Bank account' tab
1. 🇺🇸 If located in the U.S. click Manual verification and then Next
2. 🇨🇦 If located in Canada, enter the Account holder name & email and then Continue. Under “Couldn’t find your bank?” click micro-deposit verification.
Enter the bank account information
🚩 Only add checking accounts when adding a new bank account. Savings accounts are not compatible with brightwheel billing.
Continue through the remainder of the prompts
A popup will outline the next steps. Follow the instructions to monitor and verify the micro-deposits in your bank account. Then return to the same page to complete the verification.

Verify a Bank Account with Micro-deposits

After receiving the two deposits within 48 hours, log back into brightwheel and enter the exact amounts deposited to verify the account. Be sure to enter them in the exact order in which they were received.

Check the bank account online within 2 business days to locate the deposits
Navigate back to the Payment Settings page and click Verify on that payment method
Enter the two deposits and click Verify again

ℹ️ If you cannot complete your verification in time or are having difficulty, please email help@mybrightwheel.com to request that your account be removed to start over or get additional assistance.

Add a Credit or Debit Card

Childcare providers on brightwheel decide which payment methods are accepted. If credit card payments aren't allowed, you can only add a bank account. If enabled, payers can add credit/debit cards to a student's billing profile after completing a two-factor authentication (2FA) process for added security, also known as two-step verification or dual-factor authentication.

Navigate to the Payments section online or in your mobile app
Go to the Payment Settings tab and click Add payment method if you have no payment methods on file, or Add new to add additional methods
💡 If this is your first time adding a payment method and your program requires autopay, you will click Add payment method to autopay in the popup window instead!
In the popup, jump to the Card tab
Enter the card information and click Add
💡 The currently accepted card brands are: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners Club, and China UnionPay.
Input the 6-digit verification code sent to the email and/or phone number you use to log in to brightwheel
Please Note: This code will expire after 10 minutes. If it doesn't arrive in your email inbox, be sure to check your spam folder.
Click Verify to finish adding the payment method

FSA/HSA Accounts

FSA/HSA/Dependent Care accounts are potential options that can be added to a payer's brightwheel account to make payments to a program, if the program accepts this payment type.

If a program accepts online bank transfers and the FSA/HSA account has an associated routing and account number	Link with login or Manually add a bank account
If a program accepts Credit/Debit Card payments and the FSA/HSA account has an associated card number	Add the card

💡 If you are having trouble adding an accepted FSA/HCA payment method, review our Troubleshooting resource.

View & Remove Payment Methods

Guardians can view which payment methods are being charged and are on file in their account. Bank accounts and cards as payment methods can also be removed by a payer as long as there is another payment method attached to the account. If autopay is not turned on at the school and/or account level, all payment methods can be removed.

🚩 If you are removing your payment method, you may be responsible for making arrangements to pay any outstanding balances to your program. We'd recommend that you reach out to your program to find out what alternative payment options may be available to you.

Navigate to the Payments section online or in your mobile app
Go to the Payment Settings
Locate the specific payment method tile and click Delete

ℹ️ Program admins cannot remove a payer's payment method on their behalf. Payers can only remove themselves and/or request assistance from brightwheel's Support team if issues are encountered.

Manage Autopay

Autopay in brightwheel (sometimes referred to as automatic/direct withdrawal) saves time and ensures timely tuition payments by charging the full balance on each statement due date. Autopay settings can be customized for each student and for multiple payment methods. Autopay always triggers a payment for the the total balance due, including any existing balance on next statement due date.

Some providers require Mandatory Autopay, prompting payers to enable autopay when adding a payment method. If a payment method is already saved, brightwheel will prompt payers to confirm autopay on the student's billing account page.

ℹ️ While Mandatory Autopay is a setting that is controlled by your program, if you wish to remove a payment method while on autopay, brightwheel’s Support team can help with this!

If the provider does not require autopay, payers can manage settings anytime by following the steps below.

Navigate to the Payments section online or in your mobile app
Go to the Payment Settings tab
Each student eligible for billing will be listed under My Autopay Settings
Toggle the My Autopay Status switch to ON/OFF
1. If turning ON, select the desired payment method from the dropdown

💡If you are paying for multiple students/siblings, autopay is turned on for each, there are invoices with the same due date, and they are being charged to the same payment method - these payments will be bundled together as a single combined payment to save on fees.

Service Fees

Service fees on online payments support brightwheel’s secure, efficient, and reliable transaction infrastructure, support operations and technical applications. If a program chooses, these fees may be passed on to payers and will appear on prepayment invoices, in the Make a Payment screen, and on post-payment receipts. Service fees are non-refundable, even if the payment has been refunded.

For specific fee policies, please contact your program. Brightwheel offers a wide variety of features and options, and ultimately it is up to each provider to determine their own policies and procedures.

Troubleshooting

To learn how to solve issues about not receiving 2FA codes when adding a payment method, view our Issues Receiving a 2FA Code resource.

Now that you've learned about setting up payment methods, autopay, and processing fees - learn how to Make Payments!