CBSE asks affiliated schools to enable UPI, RuPay and BBPS fee payments

The Central Board of Secondary Education has asked every affiliated school to push digital payments across fee counters, canteens, libraries and other campus services. Affiliation Circular No. 12/2026 dated 30 September 2026, posted on the CBSE website on 1 October, relays a Digital Payments Promotion Plan drawn up by the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance.

The plan aims to widen acceptance of digital payments in the school ecosystem for students, parents and staff. Secretary, CBSE, Varun Bhardwaj, has signed the circular with the approval of the competent authority of the Board.

Heads and managers are addressed directly. The instruction is practical rather than ceremonial: enable acceptance where cash still dominates, and teach safe use alongside the switch.

What schools are told to switch on

Schools should enable UPI and RuPay card acceptance at all payment points, including fees and day-to-day campus services. Campuses in low-connectivity areas are advised to use UPI Lite, UPI LiteX and UPI 123PAY, and to run assisted demonstrations so families can try the tools without confusion.

On fee collection, CBSE asks schools to consider onboarding the Bharat Bill Payment System for standardised, secure and interoperable payments. The circular also suggests linking ERP systems so recurring payments, including staff salaries, can move through the same digital rails where the school is ready for that step.

Universal acceptance does not mean every counter must change on the same morning. Schools can sequence fee desks first, then canteen and library points, as long as the direction of travel matches the DFS plan summarised in Circular 12/2026.

Schools that already collect fees through a private gateway can keep that channel while they add UPI at the physical counter. Circular 12/2026 is about expanding acceptance, not about tearing down a working ERP overnight.

Awareness and literacy work

Digital payment awareness should enter teacher training and school-level campaigns. Financial literacy modules that cover safe digital use are to be promoted, and parents should get briefings during events and parent-teacher meetings.

The Board wants campus drives that show safe habits: verifying UPI IDs, avoiding shared OTPs, and using official school QR codes rather than personal numbers. The circular does not prescribe a single vendor. It asks schools to enable acceptance and literacy under the DFS plan.

Teachers who already handle fee grievances will need a short script for common parent questions, including failed UPI callbacks and how to obtain a school-stamped receipt after an online payment.

Fee clerks should also keep a printed backup receipt format for the first weeks of UPI uptake, because parents still ask for a stamp even after a successful QR payment.

Who else is copied

Copies go to Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, Eklavya Model Residential Schools, Sainik Schools Society, Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya Sangathan and several state school education directors, so the instruction travels beyond private CBSE affiliates.

Principals and managers should map every cash touch-point this term, decide which counters can take UPI or RuPay immediately, and plan BBPS onboarding if fee collection still runs only on school-specific gateways.

The full text is on cbse.gov.in under the 1 October circular listing.