$81m TSLS allowance paid via M-PAiSA

The Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service (TSLS) has paid out $81 million in allowance through Vodafone’s M-PAiSA to TSLS recipients since 2018.

This was revealed by TSLS chief executive officer Hasmukh Lal on Thursday.

TSLS and Vodafone renewed their Agreement on Provision of M-PAiSA Service to the TSLS sponsored and funded students this week.

The first Memorandum of Understating (MoU) between TSLS and Vodafone’s M-PAiSA was signed in 2018, to deposit allowance for sponsored students since TSLS provides the option to students to have their allowance deposited in their mobile wallet or in the bank account.

Mr Lal highlighted that the average disbursement of allowance in the first four years was $8m annually.

The figure reached $18m annually in 2022 and 2023. This shows a 125 per cent increase in students opting for M-PAiSA to receive their allowances, Mr Lal said.

This year, TSLS has disbursed $13m through M-PAiSA to sponsored students and it is projected to be around $25m by year end.

The increase is attributed to the increase in sponsored students this year compared to average 13,000 in the past two years. This year, 15,667 students are sponsored by Government through TSLS.

Mr Lal said from 2018 to date, $81m had been disbursed through M-PAiSA.

Head of eCommerce and Digital Financial Service for Vodafone Fiji, Shailendra Prasad said they were pleased to continue their partnership with TSLS.

“M-PAiSA is a significant player in Fiji’s financial service ecosystem. It provides the convenience of 24 x 7 access from the mobile phone – a gadget that is a student’s most trusted companion in the digital era,” said Mr Prasad.

“Vodafone offers a number of benefits to students through its exclusive student SIM offer such as free access to University of the South Pacific, Fiji National University and UNI Fiji websites, recharge bonanza every day, unlimited on-net calls and SMS. These are all accessible via M-PAiSA.”

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