Penny test guide

Guide to Completing the Penny Test

Completing the penny test will verify the school’s bank account and allow Esenda to set up the account for you to collect GBP payments via UK Bank Transfer and enable Open Banking.

Why is this step necessary? For safety and compliance, the payout system uses a closed-loop mechanism.

This means funds can only be paid out to a bank account that has previously made a payment into the

system. This process helps verify ownership and prevents fraudulent redirection of funds.

How do I verify our school's bank account? To verify your organisation’s account, you must send a small payment of 1 penny from the account that will receive payouts. This confirms that the account is active and under your control.

Steps to complete the verification payment:

1. Before continuing, ensure that you have access to your school’s bank account and can make

payments from that account.

2. Access the Esenda Portal at https://portal.esenda.com/ using your user email address and password. After login, on the left hand side, look for the tab “Payment links”.

3. Follow the payment link for the one where the reference is “Penny”. This link will bring you to the

payment portal.

On the payment portal:

Page 1. Enter your email address - Click “Continue”

Page 2. Select payment origin country: {United Kingdom} - Click “Continue”

Page 3. Payment method: Select “Bank transfer”. Enter the information below, then click "Continue"

• Payer First Name: {First name of school bank account holder}
• Payer Last Name: {Last name of school bank account holder}
• Date of Birth: Leave blank
• Address: {School's address}

Page 4. Use the account details and reference shown on screen to make the payment from the

school's bank account.

What happens after the payment? The payment will show as "Processing" until received, then it will change to “Success”.

After we verify the account and payment, our team will payout the penny back to the account. You

will then receive a confirmation of payment email, and this transaction will appear in your portal as a successful transaction under the “Extras” tab.

Once verified, your account will be fully enabled for:

• Receiving Open Banking payments in GBP
• Receiving Bank Transfer payments from within the UK in GBP

Need help? If you have any questions or need assistance during the process, please don’t hesitate to

reach out to [email protected]