Renfrewshire Council has had to fork out more than £26,000 in transaction fees for the use of an online school payment system.
The local authority began using ParentPay in 2018/19 to give families an easier and quicker method of paying for kids' lunches, trips and activities.
Instead of giving youngsters cash for their expenses, the system allows parents to pay directly for them via bank transfer.
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But for every transaction that goes through ParentPay, councils are charged fees of up to 1.3 per cent on each payment.
In the first year of using the system, the council was charged £4,495.57 in transaction fees.
And in 2019/20 that figure had almost tripled with the local authority paying out more than £12,500.
Between 2018 and 2021, the council was charged £26,273.68 for parents' use of the system.
The data came to light following a freedom of information request from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Councillor Andy Doig said he thought the system was useful but insisted the council needed to keep tabs on the charges.
The Independent councillor said: "I think it was a good idea to introduce
ParentPay.
"Any system which stops parents needing to give cash to their children for school I think is a positive thing.
"But on the flip side, there are these extra charges and I think we do need to be keeping a close eye on this.
"It's been a really useful tool and let's keep it going, but at the same time let's not lose sight of these costs."
In the latest school year the council was charged more than £9,000 in transaction fees, with the cost dropping slightly compared to the previous 12 months as the country grappled with coronavirus.
It is anticipated payments could start to decrease following the roll out of free school meals to pupils in P5 to P7.
All P1 to P4 pupils are already entitled to free school meals in Renfrewshire, but they will be rolled out to older primary kids during the coming school year.
The council said ParentPay aims to make payments, simpler, easier and more transparent for parents, but declined to comment when asked if the system was worth the cost of transaction fees.
A council spokesman said: “ParentPay enable parents and carers to pay online for their child’s school trips, events and activities as well as school meals.”
