Despite the bursary scheme’s efforts to make its system user-friendly and easily accessible to beneficiaries, complaints about delayed NSFAS allowances and overall student funding allocation remain frequent for students throughout the country.
This has prompted NSFAS CEO, Andile Nongogo to clarify how the scheme’s disbursement model has been changed as a countermeasure to this problem. Third-party entities such as institutions no longer receive their allowance payments on behalf of their students.
This portion of the scheme’s student funding allocation is now paid directly into the student’s NSFAS Bank account. NSFAS made this change upon finding that some tertiary institutions do not make allowance payments on a specified date, which would often result in complaints about payment delays from affected students.
Related Article: How To Login To MyNsfas Student Portal
Nongogo also points out that the current disbursement method was specifically chosen because it enables NSFAS to have certainty and control in ensuring that payments are made on time. The NSFAS Bank account also comes with perks such as low transaction charges and student discounts.
In the case of TVET College Students, NSFAS also had to move this cohort of students to the their banking system, as the previous mobile wallet system exposed them to fraudsters.
How To Access Your NSFAS Bank Account
The scheme’s current eligibility criteria requires funded students to complete the NSFAS direct payment onboarding process to receive allowance payments.
NSFAS then negotiates a student-based transaction fee on behalf of all students receiving
NSFAS allowances, which will be reviewed from time to time. T
he scheme announced the rollout of its new direct payment method through the Scheme’s Mastercard earlier this year.
The new payment method operates with the assistance of third-party financial services providers such as Coinvest, eZaga, Morocco and Tenet Technology.
