Frequently Asked Questions

Questions

  1. What is 4Ward Thinking?
  2. Why would I use this service?
  3. What about university tuition?
  4. What credit cards can I use to pay?
  5. How much does it cost to use the service?
  6. Why is there a fee?
  7. Will my rewards points outmatch this fee?
  8. Will this fee change over time?
  9. How does My Tuition Counts give back to my school?
  10. How long does it take for my tuition payment to get to my school?
  11. How do I know it is secure?
  12. What types of payments can I send using My Tuition Counts?
  13. Is there a limit to the amount I can put through?
  14. Can I send tuition payments for more than one school?
  15. Will my credit card company decline my payment because it is such a high amount?
  16. How much money will My Tuition Counts give back to my school?
  17. How can I promote this service to other parents?
  18. When did this service start?
  19. Does My Tuition Counts have any formal partnerships or recognition?

Answers:

1. What is My Tuition Counts?

Answer: My Tuition Counts is a simple online website where you can pay your tuition for school with your credit card. You simply visit www.mytuitioncounts.com , create an account, and send your tuition securely by credit card. The entire process takes only minutes.

2. Why would I use this service?

Answer: There are Three Benefits of using My Tuition Counts to pay tuition of private and independent schools:

  1. Rewards: putting large tuition payments on credit card can generate huge rewards points, miles, or cash back. Many credit card programs offer bonus points for large payments which help create these large volumes of rewards.
  2. Convenience: paying tuition using My Tuition Counts takes only a few minutes to set-up the first time, and then only seconds to pay thereafter. No need to ever write a cheque, head to the bank, or conduct a wire transfer.
  3. Charity: My Tuition Counts is committed to giving back to our community around us, including your school. A large portion of our profits go directly back to your school or to a charity that your school identifies.

3. What about university tuition?

Answer: My Tuition Counts can also be used for any university payments across Canada. When sending a payment on our website, you can simply select a school that the payment is designated towards. For example, you could select “University of Toronto” when checking out on our website, and your payment would be sent to your son or daughter’s account at the University of Toronto.  

4. What credit cards can I use to pay?

Answer: At this time My Tuition Counts accepts both MasterCard and VISA. We do not currently accept American Express but we plan to add this third card as an option if the demand from our customers is high enough.

5. How much does it cost to use the service?

Answer: My Tuition Counts charges a 2.39% processing fee for both MasterCard and VISA.

6. Why is there a fee?

Answer: The processing fee that My Tuition Counts charges is in large part due to the risk and liability that we undertake to handle large volumes of payments. The credit card industry has set these fees because of card misuse, fraud, and the stringent security requirements necessary to process your card information securely.

7. Will my rewards points outmatch this fee?

Answer: If you have an elite reward’s card, many times you can gain 3-5% back in rewards points depending on your program and your level of expenditure. Because tuition payments are typically much larger than any other payments you put on credit card, you can often receive extraordinary bonus points for every $5,000 or $10,000 you put on your card. As such, if, for instance, you have a tuition payment of $30,000, you may get several sets of bonus points for putting such a large payment on your rewards card. This is in addition to the standard points that you would receive for every dollar you spend on that card. Furthermore, certain rewards cards will create higher value for you if you use the points in certain ways. For instance, business class flights are often only 50% more in rewards points compared to economy-class flights. When paying in cash, business class flights are typically 200-300% more in cost, and because of this differential, rewards points can payoff at very high rates in these circumstances.

8. Will this fee change over time?

Answer: Absolutely. We are committed to lowering this fee continually over time. In fact, this fee dropped from3% in 2010 to 2.39 % in early spring.

9. How does My Tuition Counts give back to my school?

Answer: My Tuition Counts employs a tiered model of giving back. We give back anywhere between 20% and 50% of our proceeds back to your school. The amount we give back varies based on the number of parents from your school who use our service. The more parents who pay via credit, the more money we give back to your school or a charity that it identifies.

10. How long does it take for my tuition payment to get to my school?

Answer: Typically payments are cleared for security and then electronically deposited to your school’s account in 48 hours.

11. How do I know it is secure?

Answer: My Tuition Counts has gone out of its way to ensure the most stringent security measures are in place on the website. This includes the latest encryption technology and a secure checkout process that stores your personal information outside of the main access point of the website. This prevents any third parties from attempting to steal any information. In addition, My Tuition Counts has had to go through a rigorous process to comply with security standards with MasterCard and VISA. My Tuition Counts is a registered payment facilitator with both of these companies and pays significant costs on a monthly basis to meet these security demands.

12. What types of payments can I send using My Tuition Counts?

Answer: My Tuition Counts exists as a means for you to pay your tuition by credit card. However, we also accommodate payments for other fees such as registration, technology, bus/parking, and more. The types of fees we process vary depending on your school, but when you are sending a payment within your account you will be able to specify what type it is.

13. Is there a limit to the amount I can put through?

Answer: My Tuition Counts limits individual transactions to a maximum of $50,000 each. There is, however, no limit to the total amount of transactions you can put through.

14. Can I send tuition payments for more than one school?

Answer: Of course! There is no limitation to what school or how many schools you can pay your tuition to by credit card. If, for example, your son goes to one school and your daughter to another, you can easily pay for both of their tuition payments within your same account!

15. Will my credit card company decline my payment because it is such a high amount?

Answer: Each credit card is different, but if you are not used to putting through large payments such as tuition we advise that you contact your credit card company to let them know ahead of time. Typically this is not a problem after the first payment, but as a precautionary measure it only takes 5 minutes to inform your credit company of the amount you are putting through.

16. How much money will My Tuition Counts give back to my school?

Answer: The amount of money My Tuition Counts donates back to your school (or to a charity it identifies) varies based on the participation rate of parents using credit cards for tuition at your school. An average school could earn anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000.

17. How can I promote this service to other parents?

Answer: My Tuition Counts is a service primarily for parents and thus we encourage and rely on parents to share or recommend it as an option to their friends, colleagues, and peers. After all, the more parents who use it from your school, the more money we donate back compared to other schools! 

To share My Tuition Counts, you can do so from your account on our website, which will generate an automatic e-mail that you can send out to others.

18. When did this service start?

Answer: My Tuition Counts is a Canadian organization started 3 years ago by two business students - one from the University of Alberta and another from Harvard University.

19. Does My Tuition Counts have any formal partnerships or recognition?

Answer: Yes! My Tuition Counts and MasterCard Worldwide are forming a significant partnership that will expand the service over the next 5 years. Watch for a press release in March!