Presumably all other airlines could also have collected it as part of the normal fees though if Norwich had let them? You always used to have to pay the fee at a terminal by security, it gave you a QR code that then opened gates to let you enter the security check area. I guess they could program them to let Ryanair boarding card QR codes through?
The terminal is quite nice now, when the toilets were in the middle of departures and the bar and cafe were where the toilets are now it was horrible cramped.