London & Lancashire, UK, 24th July 2025 – Connect Childcare, the UK’s most-trusted nursery-management platform, today announced a partnership with Unipaas, the Payment-as-a-Service specialist for software platforms, to launch Connect Cashflow, a single payment layer that lets nurseries accept, reconcile and analyse every transaction from one dashboard. The service is expected to process hundreds of millions of GBP in total payment volume each year, replacing multiple third-party gateways with a fully integrated solution. 

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A headline feature of the launch is native support for HMRC Tax-Free Childcare (TFC).

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Parents will be able to apply TFC funds, or split a bill between TFC, card, Apple/Google Pay, Direct Debit or instant bank transfer in a single, friction-free checkout. Behind the scenes, TFC receipts are automatically matched and reconciled alongside every other payment, eliminating the need for nursery staff to juggle government portals and spreadsheets.

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“What was attractive about Unipaas is that everything is centralised, the rates are flexible enough for us to build margin, and the user experience for our customers is dramatically better because all transaction types, including the all important Tax-Free Childcare, sit in one place,” said Chris Reid, CEO of Connect Childcare.

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A friction-free experience for nurseries and parents

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Connect Cashflow will give the platform’s thousands of nurseries:

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- Unified checkout & ledger: card, Apple/Google Pay, Direct Debit, instant bank transfer, childcare vouchers and HMRC Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) in one seamless flow, with automatic payment-source splitting.

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- Real-time payment analytics: live dashboards for payment status, settlement and arrears.

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- Built-in security & compliance: PSD2-ready 3-D Secure, SCA logic and tokenised card vaulting.

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- Fast onboarding: KYC/KYB checks and ongoing monitoring fully managed by Unipaas.

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Unipaas: purpose-built for vertical SaaS

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Unipaas provides software platforms with everything they need to offer, scale, and monetize payments - built directly into the platform, end-to-end compliant, and delivered as a fully managed service by Unipaas.

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David Avgi, CEO of Unipaas, commented: “Connect Childcare has already transformed how nurseries run their operations. By embedding Unipaas, including our new Tax-Free Childcare rails, they can now turn payments into a growth engine, boost monetisation, and significantly enhance their users’ payments experience - all through one unified solution.”

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Connect Cashflow will be rolling out across the customer base, delivering a seamless payment experience and native Tax-Free Childcare support for nurseries.

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About Connect Childcare

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Connect Childcare is one of the UK’s leading nursery management software providers, trusted by thousands of nurseries, including many of the country’s top nursery groups and chains. With over 20 years of experience in the early years sector, Connect Childcare is dedicated to making nursery life easier. The software helps nursery managers and their teams cut down on paperwork, save valuable time, and streamline day-to-day operations. Designed with the unique needs of early years settings in mind, the system is fully customisable and focuses on supporting child development, empowering staff, and improving parental engagement.

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About Unipaas

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Unipaas is the go-to Payment-as-a-Service provider for software platforms. We enable SaaS businesses to embed fully managed, branded payment solutions directly into their products—covering online checkout, mobile, invoicing, subscriptions and more. Supporting all major payment methods (cards, Direct Debit, instant bank transfers, digital wallets and alternative local options), Unipaas unifies the payment experience while handling onboarding, compliance, operations and customer support behind the scenes. By turning payments into a true lever for growth, Unipaas helps platforms maximise revenue, increase adoption and deliver payment journeys their customers love.

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