On top of that, if students use credit cards, there is a charge per swipe. So that raises costs for students.
Not in the UK there isn't - the merchant fee is a percentage of the takings, usually around 2% (unless it's American Express where it's about 4-5%). So it doesn't matter whether you pay after every flight, pay up front or in arrears, the card fees will be the same.
And it's stil cheaper than processing cash or cheques.
Can you imagine processing 100 student payments in one day?
Whether the student pays in advance or arrears, you've still got to the process the invoices and payments so this is irrelevant (unless your accounts department were in a mess). You have to keep a record of where the student's account is.
If there is a contract, you have legal standing in a court of law.
Not if the school goes bust; no legal standing whatsoever.
Cheers
Whirls