BREAKING: NELFUND introduces token system to stop double payment of school fees

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has launched a pilot program for a tokenized payment system aimed at preventing students from making duplicate payments of school fees. Nearly 400,000 applications have already been received for the ongoing process. Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr explained that the new system would allow students to initiate payments directly to their institutions through tokens linked to their schools.

Students would use a mobile application to authorize payments from their approved loan funds to their institutions, eliminating the need for refunds in cases where students paid fees unknowingly. Sawyerr emphasized that the new arrangement was intended to address issues with students being informed about NELFUND payments in a timely manner, leading to duplicate payments and refund complications.

The tokenized system restricts the funds to the designated institution and prevents students from transferring them to their personal bank accounts or other schools. The pilot phase of the system has already received close to 400,000 applications.