Safaricom and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) have announced the launch of new mobile payment solutions that will affect the disbursement of student loans.
The HELB Mobile Wallet will enable students to receive the upkeep portion of their loans directly to their M-Pesa account, while the HELB M-Pesa Mini App will allow all beneficiaries to manage their accounts from an Android or iPhone app.
The Mini App will enable beneficiaries to access their HELB upkeep, withdraw funds, apply for subsequent loans, view their loan status and statements, and repay loans.
The partnership between Safaricom and HELB aims to provide greater convenience and enhance the experience of beneficiaries when accessing funds and services.
The HELB Mini App can be accessed by all M-PESA customers under the “Services” section of the M-Pesa Super App.
Beneficiaries who have registered their mobile numbers with HELB can enter their phone number to receive a code to activate the Mini App and set a PIN for subsequent access.
Those who have not registered their mobile numbers with HELB will need to enter a phone number linked to their National ID to connect their numbers and activate the Mini App.
All beneficiaries will have the option to receive the upkeep portion of their loans through M-Pesa or the mobile wallet, starting with first-year students making their first application.
This option will gradually be rolled out to existing beneficiaries in their second and later years of studies.
Safaricom Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Peter Ndegwa said the partnership with HELB will deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers in a rapidly digitizing world.
The mobile and digital solutions aim to empower all beneficiaries with more convenience and enable them to easily access and manage HELB funds and services on their mobile phones.
The partners are working to integrate other mobile money services into the wallet to enable students to receive funds through those services in the coming months.
HELB CEO, Charles Ringera said the partnership with Safaricom will greatly enhance the experience of beneficiaries when accessing funds and services.