Georgia Department Deploys ClassWallet Platform to Distribute Federal Funds

ClassWallet’s digital wallet technology platform is now being deployed in early childcare and preschool markets.

Already used for state agencies, family scholarships, private schools and K-12 school districts, the platform has entered these new markets with a contract in which it will be used by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) to track, report and facilitate distribution of $140 million in federal funds, ClassWallet said in a Thursday (March 2) press release.

“Our entry into early childcare is modeled on our previous success with ESA [education savings account] programs as we provide tools to simplify the purchasing and reimbursement process,” ClassWallet CEO Jamie Rosenberg said in the release. “Our technology will enable the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning to eliminate processing paper receipts and simultaneously create an easily audited money trail.”

PYMNTS research has found that procurement is an area in which businesses in different verticals see value in deploying digital solutions.

For example, since March 2020, 48% of manufacturers and 33% of retailers have made investments in upgrading the digital technology in their procurement systems, according to “Digital Payments: A Changing Economy Sparks New Priorities for Systems Spending,” a PYMNTS and Corcentric collaboration.

ClassWallet strives to modernize cumbersome paper-based processes for requisitioning supplies and paying for them, while also solving the key pain point of getting schools and agencies the goods and services they need, but still making sure that everyone transacts within defined rules, ClassWallet President Neil Steinhardt told PYMNTS in an interview posted in November.

The platform enables reimbursement, debit cards, closed-loop bill pay and closed-loop eCommerce, Steinhardt said at the time.

“It’s kind of a commercial-grade Venmo,” Steinhardt said, “and this couldn’t be done if we didn’t do it digitally.”

The federal funds to be distributed by DECAL with the help of ClassWallet are from four grant programs funded by the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), according to the press release.

DECAL previously used the platform to distribute $15 million in COVID-related funding and either has used or plans to use it to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE), COVID test kits, classroom supplies and other materials, DECAL Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration Rian Ringsrud said in the release.

“DECAL does not have this type of capacity internally and using ClassWallet has allowed us to provide access to these resources for childcare programs and teachers across the state,” Ringsrud said.