The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances will be paid directly to students starting in June 2023. This announcement comes just days after the financial aid scheme announced a new payment solution for funded students.
NSFAS provides comprehensive bursaries to students from poor and working-class backgrounds. The comprehensive bursary is only available to students enrolled in approved academic programmes at public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
The NSFAS bursary will cover a student's tuition and registration fees. Funded students will also receive an accommodation allowance, living allowances and a learning material allowance.
Previously, NSFAS distributed allowances to students through the intuitions the students attend or via third-party partners. A new payment solution first introduced in 2022 will now see allowances paid directly to students in their NSFAS bank accounts.
Earlier this week NSFAS called on university students to register for their NSFAS bank account. Once students register for the NSFAS bank account, they will be issued a NSFAS mastercard which they can use to spend their allowances.
The new payment solution gives NSFAS control over when payments are made to students while also providing students with certainty that payments will be made.
The NSFAS mastercard will also provide students with access to value-added services, the ability to make online purchases and use tap-to-pay functionality.
NSFAS teamed up with four distribution partners to bring the new payment solution to students. These distribution partners include eZaga, Coinvest, Tenet Technology and Norocco.
Students must register for the NSFAS bank account with one of these distribution partners based on the university they attend.
