Safaricom and HELB to Disburse Loans to M-PESA
Date: 2023-04-30
Safaricom and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) have announced a
partnership launching the HELB Mobile Wallet and HELB M-PESA Mini App.
The HELB Mobile Wallet according to a statement, will empower students to
receive the upkeep portion of their student loans direct to their M-PESA
account. In addition, the two organisations have launched the HELB M-PESA Mini
App where all HELB beneficiaries can manage their accounts.
The statement said HELB Mini App will also empower beneficiaries to access their HELB upkeep,
withdraw funds, repay loans, apply for subsequent loans, view their loan status, and access their statements all from an Android and iPhone app.
“This partnership with Safaricom will empower
beneficiaries with even more convenience and greatly enhance their experience
when accessing funds and our services. All HELB beneficiaries can now access
all our services through the HELB Mini App or by dialing *642# where they
can apply for subsequent loans, access their HELB upkeep funds, withdraw
funds, view their loan status, access their statements, and repay loans, all
from feature phones, an Android and iPhone app,” said Charles Ringera, CEO – HELB.
All M-PESA customers can access the HELB Mini App under the “Services”
section on the M-PESA Super App. Beneficiaries who have already registered
their mobile phone numbers with HELB will then key in their phone number upon
which they will receive a code to activate the Mini App and set a PIN for
subsequent access. Beneficiaries yet to register their mobile number with HELB
will need to key in a phone number registered to the same National ID linked to
their HELB account to connect their numbers and activate the Mini App.
“We are honoured to be HELB’s partner of
choice to deliver innovations that meet the evolving needs of their customers
in a rapidly digitising world. Through this partnership, we will build and
deliver mobile and digital solutions that will further empower all
beneficiaries with more convenience by enabling them to easily access and
manage HELB funds and services on their mobile phone,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO – Safaricom.
All beneficiaries will have the option to receive the upkeep portion of
the HELB loan 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 HELB beneficiaries in their second and later year of studies,
allowing them to switch to receiving their upkeep on the mobile wallet.
Safaricom and HELB are also working to integrate other mobile money
services besides M-PESA into the wallet enabling students to receive funds
through those services. The feature will be deployed in the coming months.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
