{"id":34216,"date":"2026-05-11T13:07:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T11:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=34216"},"modified":"2026-05-11T13:07:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T11:07:23","slug":"sa-student-financial-aid-scheme-releases-university-accommodation-payments-reports-66-79-million-quarterly-disbursement","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/sa-student-financial-aid-scheme-releases-university-accommodation-payments-reports-66-79-million-quarterly-disbursement\/","title":{"rendered":"SA Student Financial Aid Scheme releases university accommodation payments, reports $66.79 million quarterly disbursement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NSFAS <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">said<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> providers using other banks may experience minor delays, depending on interbank processing timelines.<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NSFAS <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">said 3<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> major disbursements were made to accommodation providers during the current quarter, totalling more than $66.79 million, benefiting <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">more than <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">100 000<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> students.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NSFAS <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">said<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> 95% of accommodation providers listed on solution partner portals have had banking details verified and are now included in direct payments for 2026.<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NSFAS <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">said<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> one-on-one engagements are <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">continuing<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> with remaining providers to complete integration into the direct payment system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NSFAS said a monthly disbursement schedule will be issued to all accredited accommodation providers. NSFAS encouraged accommodation providers to confirm student funding status and ensure signed lease agreements are in place, described as prerequisites for payment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NSFAS said payment functionality for accommodation providers was legally required to move in-house from the start of 2026, with NSFAS saying the change helped resolve critical issues <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">including<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">delays in institutions confirming students, affecting payment cycles<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">misclassification of students as transport-allowance recipients<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">uncertainties around accommodation accreditation<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NSFAS acknowledged operational pressures faced by accommodation providers, including rising utility costs and municipal challenges. NSFAS said collaboration with sector associations and solution partners remains in place to finalise 2026 rental rates and implement a predictable, transparent payment system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">NSFAS said case-by-case resolution continues for payment challenges, with a request for affected accommodation providers to contact NSFAS directly for assistance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34219,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-34216","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"\r\nSouth Africa's (SA) National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) said on Monday, private accommodation payments for universities were released on May 7 2026, with providers banking with First National Bank (FNB) receiving funds immediately after release.","published_date":"","news_description":" South Africa's (SA) National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) said on Monday, private accommodation payments for universities were released on May 7 2026, with providers banking with First National Bank (FNB) receiving funds immediately after release.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34220,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34216\/revisions\/34220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}