The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has advised its affiliated schools to expand the use of digital payments across school-related financial transactions and conduct awareness programmes on safe digital payment practices.
The board issued Circular No. 12/2026 on September 30, following a communication from the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, on promoting digital payments across the education ecosystem.
The advisory covers payments made by students, parents and school staff and asks school heads and managers to take measures to facilitate digital transactions across different school services.
UPI and RuPay payments
CBSE has advised schools to enable digital payment options, including UPI and RuPay cards, across payment touchpoints such as school fees, canteens, libraries and other services.
For schools located in areas with limited connectivity, the board has suggested UPI Lite, UPI LiteX and UPI 123PAY as alternative options.
The circular also says schools may promote demonstrations and assisted usage models to help users adopt digital payments.
BBPS for school fee payments
The board has also advised schools to consider onboarding the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) for fee collection.
According to the circular, BBPS can be used for standardised, secure and interoperable fee collection. Schools may also integrate payment systems with their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to streamline recurring payments, including salary payments to staff.
The latest advisory does not state that schools must adopt UPI, RuPay or BBPS. The measures are framed as recommendations to schools, with the circular using terms such as “may” and “are advised”.
CBSE asks schools to conduct awareness drives
Alongside payment infrastructure, CBSE has asked schools to promote digital payment awareness and financial literacy.
Schools may incorporate digital payment awareness into teacher training programmes and school-level campaigns. The board has also suggested promoting financial literacy modules that include digital payments.
Schools may conduct awareness campaigns for parents to encourage safe and convenient use of digital payments. The circular also suggests awareness drives on school campuses, during events and through parent-teacher interactions.
