Vodacom, together with education finance and bursary administration provider Eduloan, is enabling students to pay for educational and daily expenses from their bursary cash stipends, by using the operator's M-Pesa mobile wallet.
In the pilot phase, Eduloan bursary students will get their cash allowance deposited into their mobile wallet, which will enable them to pay for some of their daily expenses using M-Pesa. The plan, says Vodacom, is to migrate cash stipend students to the M-Pesa platform during October.
Students who form part of the Eduloan pilot, but do not have cellphones, will be issued with entry-level handsets by Vodacom.
Eduloan's existing electronic bursary disbursement system is currently enabled by smart card technology. The company says it has recognised the need to further extend its platform to include mobile enablement. "Eduloan [has also] recognised the need to offer its student a low service cost banking solution to ensure that high charges do not prohibit their ability to access funds/cash required to fulfil their education."
Herman Singh, Vodacom's managing executive of m-commerce, says the operator's M-Pesa strategy is based on strategic partnerships and alliances. "The strategic fit [with Eduloan] is excellent as it draws on the relative strengths of both firms. It allows Vodacom M-Pesa to enter the market on campus and in schools, and allows Eduloan to migrate to a lower-cost and more feature-rich platform."
To use Vodacom and Eduloan's solution, students need to open an M-Pesa account by dialling *111#. Eduloan will deposit allowances or stipends funds directly into the students' M-Pesa account, allowing students to make cash deposits, do person-to-person transfers and make purchases using any point of sale device.
M-Pesa also includes an optional Visa card, meaning mobile money can be used by students to pay for purchases at any store that accepts card payments.
Vodacom recently relaunched its mobile money service in SA, focusing on making the service more accessible through its distribution channels. The "overhauled" M-pesa launched with over 8 000 agents at informal outlets and at large retail partners and has since partnered with Bidvest. The company plans to grow that footprint to around 30 000 points of presence by the end of the year.
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