Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) expends more than KSh. 15 billion to over 200,000 beneficiaries yearly. Some amount of the loan is normally sent straight to the learning institution to pay for the tuition and accommodation fees while the remainder is sent to the student for expenditure.
But students in tertiary institutions will now have an alternative of receiving their HELB loans and bursaries directly to their M-pesa accounts. Thanks to HELB – Safaricom partnership for the smart mobile payment solution.
The smart mobile payment solution will ensure students utilise the allocated funds responsibly. This will be possible since money will be locked for specific allocations, such as the library or tuition fees and only accessible to the special and specific Paybill account of the recipient’s university or institution.
Upkeep allowance will be transferrable to the student’s M-PESA wallet for daily use.
This program will be beneficial to all stakeholders as paying fees through mobile phones will reduce ques during registration. Management and monitoring of all loans throughout the loan lifecycle will also be possible.
Students will receive notifications and appropriate a financial planning tool on the portal. Graduates will also be able to track their payments and generate statements.
