The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is a bursary funded by the government which provides underprivileged students with financial aid to further their studies. NSFAS funds public university and TVET College students.
Every month students receive allowances which cover various living expenses. These expenses include transport costs, food, study materials and accommodation.
In an effort to make payment of these allowances easier and prevent payment delays, NSFAS introduced a new direct payment solution through the NSFAS MasterCard in partnership with eZaga. eZaga is a digital banking service which is one of the third-party financial service providers.
Students funded by NSFAS will receive a MasterCard and bank account in which they will receive their monthly allowances. If students need to send money to another bank account, here is how they can do just that.
How To Transfer Allowances To Other Banks:
- Log into the eZaga App.
- Select “Pay recipient” on the home screen.
- Enter beneficiary details and proof of payment.
- Proceed and send OTP.
- Enter OTP to transfer funds.
- Tap on “Confirm”.
Currently, the students are funded according to which tertiary institution they attend. These are the current allowance amounts:
UNIVERSITY
- Accommodation: amount is the actual cost charged by the university. If private, the cost must not exceed the costs for university residence.
- Transport: R7 500 per year (up to 40 km from the institution)
- Living allowance: R15 000 per year
- Book allowance: R5200 per year (only applies at universities)
- Personal Care allowance: R2900 per year
TVET
- Accommodation:
- in an urban area - R24 000 per year
- in the peri-urban area - R18 900 per year
- in a rural area - R15 750 per year
- Transport: R7 350 (up to 40 km from the institution)
- Personal Care allowance: R2 900 per year
The personal care allowance was introduced to assist students in paying for toiletries.
