PayFee is using FinTech to fix school fees collection glitches. 40 Days 40 FinTechs Tanzania Day 15

At the start of every school term, there are always long queues of students and parents in financial institutions; some withdrawing money and others depositing the same as school fees. This is a time-consuming and risky exercise dreaded by most stakeholders.

But financial technology is reducing most of this hustle with innovators developing and launching different school fees payment and collection platforms available on mobile phones through APPs and USSD.

In Tanzania, one such solution is PayFee; a digital payments collection platform. PayFee facilitates associations and schools to collect their monthly, quarterly and yearly fees from their members through a digitized system. It allows multiple collection channels such as mobile money, bank transfers and bank deposits.

“For school fees payments, we first onboard a school as the organization that has students as its members. We know that you have to pay school fees quarterly or semiannually or annually. With this, we create a unique identifier for every student which is then linked to their parent or guardian who will be the one to pay the school fees. This unique identifier created for every student is also used as the permanent reference number as parents make the school fees payment,” Rahim Hamza Shoo, the Chief of Products and Business Development at PayFee explained.

He added: “We currently work with three banks to facilitate members contributions and payments. The school chooses to work with one of our partner banks or suggests the bank they are working with so that we can do the necessary integrations that will allow for these digital transactions to be captured into the school’s PayFee account.”

Rahim Hamza noted that high transaction costs remain the biggest obstacles to financial inclusion as they undermine most of the benefits that come with digital financial services. He nonetheless noted that in Tanzania, there are ongoing discussions between the Central Bank and FinTech stakeholders on how to further reduce the transaction charges and make financial inclusion a truly attainable goal.

We interacted with PayFee on Day 15 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for Tanzania. First implemented in Uganda, 40 Days 40 FinTechs is an annual FinTech Innovation initiative presented by HiPipo to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations who are making significant strides in promoting financial inclusivity through the use of technology.

It is aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration among FinTechs in Africa. The initiative is designed to provide FinTechs and startups with mentorship, training, exposure, and networking opportunities to help them grow and scale their businesses.

“Having seen what the 40 Days 40 FinTechs platform has done for one start-up that I know here in Tanzania, I can say that this initiative is enormous. With this platform, there is a huge possibility for stakeholders in the space to see what we are doing and what opportunities are there for them to work with us. 40 Days 40 FinTechs gives us a chance to interact with potential investors, partners and customers,” Rajim Hamza noted.

40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Tanzania is part of HiPipo’s broader Include EveryOne Program that is generously supported by the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with Level One Project, ICTC Tanzania, Ideation Corner, Cyber PLC Academy, INFITX, NG Films, Founders Academy and Mojaloop Foundation.

The Include EveryOne program is a beacon of acceleration of FinTech Innovation, empowerment for Women in FinTech and a catalyst for investment and development in the ICT sector. Minus 40 Days 40 FinTechs, other initiatives under the Include EveryOne Program are the FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit and Incubator, Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit. HiPipo is recognized as a premier advocate of digital Innovation and financial inclusion champion, a fervent proponent of the #LevelOneProject. HiPipo has been at the forefront, actively promoting digital innovation, Instant, Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), and DFS across Africa. With a legacy of advising, mobilizing, and facilitating the adoption of inclusive financial services, HiPipo’s efforts have been nothing short of transformative! For almost two decades, HiPipo has successfully facilitated the inclusive adoption of these crucial services.