Q: Why am I having problems logging in?
A: Sometimes people have problems logging into the Café Prepay website. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first reason is that many times people disregard case sensitivity. This is very important in the Café Prepay login process. For example, if your account was set up in all lower case, you must make sure that there are no capitals in either the email address (login ID) or the password. Second, some people have problems with logging in because of privacy setting issues on their Internet browser. In order to fix this issue, consult your browser's Internet options and turn the privacy setting down to low. This will allow your computer to successfully interface with the website.
Q: When my student begins the new school year, what must I do to update his/her account? Will the balance transfer from year to year?
A: Important!! If your student is entering a new grade or school, you must delete the current student record and then click "Add Student" to re-add the student in the correct grade or school. If your student is entering a new school district, you will need to contact your old school district in regard to a refund. In all other cases, your student's balance should follow him/her as you delete and re-add your student at the beginning of each school year. In the event of a discrepancy, please direct your inquiry to the school or district office since they are responsible for the day to day operations and the updating of the balance information with the website. Once we have transferred funds to the student's school, we no longer have access to those funds, but if you contact the school, they should be able to transfer balances from one student to another or refund you the account balance. Please note: if you have scheduled your account to auto-replenish and you are requesting a refund from your school before the "end date" you've scheduled, this refund will trigger another auto-replenish transaction. Therefore, you should simply make sure to click on "Edit Scheduled Payments" and change your schedule selection to "not scheduled" prior to requesting your refund.
Q: Why do I need to add students to my account? Do I need to add them more than once if making payments to more than one program?
A: Adding students to your account enables the money that is deposited to be correctly routed to the school in your student's name. It is also a necessity if you would like to check the current balance or participation report. Most school lunch programs are "integrated", meaning that when you add your student to his/her school's meal program, you will be finding the student's name from the cafeteria database. If your school also allows you to pay for other school fees through Café Prepay, you will likely need to add your student a second time for additional programs, such as "Registration Fees". You should only need to add your student one additional time (each year) to pay for these additional programs. For example, if your school enables you to pay for "Text Books Fees", "Registration Fees" and "School Meals & Snacks", you will need to click "Add Student" once to select "School Meals & Snacks" and then proceed to find your student's name within the cafeteria database; then you will likely need to click "Add Student" a second time to add that same student to any additional programs. Whether there is one additional program or 20, you will only need to add your student one additional time. Some schools use Café Prepay but are "non-integrated", meaning that all information is manually entered. In that case, you will find that you only need to enter your student one time, no matter how many programs you wish to select. Please contact us if you have any trouble completing this process, and we will be happy to assist you.
Q: My student does not always use the cafeteria program, but I don't want him/her to be without money either. What program would be right for me in terms of depositing money?
A: Some schools offer a payment schedule called "automatic replenish on low balance." This is optimal for the student whose lunch spending varies greatly from day to day. With automatic replenish, when the student's account balance goes below a specified amount, then another specified amount is deposited in the student's account via credit card. Using "automatic replenish on low balance", the student will never run out of money in his/her account. Conversely, your credit card will not be charged until the student's balance goes below the specified dollar amount.
Q: How soon does my payment reach my student's account?
A: All payment information is sent immediately to the school, at which point it is the school's responsibility to input payments into the student's account. Many schools have the ability to do this automatically, making the process very efficient, downloading payments from our website several times a day. Some schools do not have the internet capability to do this, so payments must be entered manually. If you find that your payment isn't reflected in your student's balance update within 24 hours (during the normal school week), please contact the school cafeteria immediately. Please note: At the end of each month, Café Prepay has to complete an "End of the Month" processing report. During this time, payments cannot be processed and could be delayed until the process is completed (this normally takes 1-2 business days).
Q: Can I transfer money from one student's account to another? How do I get a refund if necessary?
A: Once we have transferred funds to the student's school, we no longer have access to those funds, but if you contact the school, they should be able to transfer balances from one student to another or refund you the account balance at any time.
Q: What is a student number (ID) and how do I know what my student's is?
A: The student number is basically an electronic routing number for your student within the school. At some schools, this number may be the same as the student's PIN number, but this is not always the case. As the student's school creates this electronic routing number, you would need to contact the school for this information.
Q: Why can't I see my student's balance/participation report?
A: Some schools do not have the Internet capabilities for their cafeteria program that allow for you to see either the current balance or participation report. Some schools have the capabilities for you to view the current balance, but not the participation report. If you are unable to see one, please contact the school, and they will be able to give you the information.
Q: How much is the website fee?
A: There are no fees associated with buying background checks or educational toys. However, if we are crediting funds to your child's Café Prepay account at his/her school, during checkout you will be charged a website fee to cover the costs of maintaining this site, electronically transferring payments to school bank accounts, as well as infrastructure charges. A typical charge is $1.50 on a $25 payment. Please note: If we receive a notice from your credit card company that you are disputing a charge in which funds were credited to your child's account, that account balance will be debited the original credit amount plus a $35 handling fee.