NELFUND introduces mobile app token system to stop double tuition payments

According to BusinessDay, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund has announced a pilot tokenised payment system to stop students from paying their tuition fees twice and to clear up refund complications. Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr explained the operational details during an interview on Thursday at Igbobi College in Yaba, Lagos. The agency has already received nearly 400,000 applications under the ongoing process. Sawyerr stated that the token system puts payment control through an app or button directly into the hands of students to prevent double payments by parents or NELFUND. Before this revision, NELFUND transferred tuition fees straight into the bank accounts of tertiary institutions, while living allowances went directly to students. The new tokenisation framework focuses specifically on institutional fee payments.

How the Mobile App Works

Sawyerr explained that some students had already paid their fees because the loan scheme started midway through the session. When NELFUND paid the school on behalf of a student who had already settled their account, the school received a double payment. Bursary staff sometimes told students who had not paid that their funds had not arrived from NELFUND, which caused problems during administrative deadlines like examinations. Some students were forced to pay on top of what NELFUND paid or withdraw from school activities. The agency decided to end this by sending electronic money to an app on the student phone.

Under the proposed framework, students will use a mobile app to authorise payments from their approved loan funds directly to their institutions. Once a student receives the token via the mobile app, they can initiate the transfer at their discretion. Sawyerr noted that students press the pay button and the funds transfer to their specific school only, meaning the institution where they are admitted. They cannot use that payment for any other purpose. This mechanism stops situations where NELFUND disbursed fees to an institution on a Monday, but a student paid independently on Wednesday without knowing about the initial transfer. Sawyerr added that the agency wants to remove instances where students must seek refunds from their various institutions by placing payment power in student hands. NELFUND confirmed that each token is encrypted and linked strictly to the designated institution, so funds cannot be redirected into secondary accounts.